


I Won't Say It

by Wonky_Writer



Category: Deadpool - All Media Types, Marvel, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempt at Humor, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Cliche, Cute, Eventual Smut, Falling In Love, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff and Humor, Forced Relationship, Funny, Kinda, Light Angst, Love Potion/Spell, M/M, On Hiatus, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Break Up, Rating May Change, Secret Identity, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, but will be back soon, loosely based on Spider-Man PS4 game, you'll see - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-02-28 04:20:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 45,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18748906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wonky_Writer/pseuds/Wonky_Writer
Summary: After a harsh breakup and a life of failed relationships, Spider-Man has decided to call it quits and give up on love entirely. The pain of rejection is too much and he's scared to live through it again. However, he isn't given much of a choice when forced to give Deadpool the chance he's always wanted.ORMy twist on the cliche love potion fic.





	1. Been There, Done That

**Author's Note:**

> Back in the game! So, a few things real quick. This was originally supposed to be a one shot, but a lot happened and the writing got delayed (and then accidentally deleted). I felt bad making people wait after promising my insta followers a short fic to hold them over until the sequel for TCH was posted. So i've broken this one shot up into different chapters. Don't worry, this was going to be a hella long one shot (for me anyways) and each chapter will probably be around 10,000 words. 
> 
> Anyways, hope you enjoy this cliche fun fic. I wanted to try something new and a little more light hearted compared to my usual hurt/comfort and angst stories. But who am I kidding...some angst has definitely snuck its way into this fic. 
> 
> Also heads up, although this is beta read, it is not heavily edited. I tried finding all the spelling errors and crap but there is probably more, sorry.

 

Peter Parker was used to a wide array of strange things happening in NYC. Especially after carrying the Spider-Man mantle for almost 10 years now. He thought he had seen it all, but the universe had a funny way of proving him wrong time and time again. This time it came in the form of colorful smoke, practical jokes, and a blossoming relationship he wasn't ready for.

He found himself reluctantly racing towards a massive cloud of purple smog rising up over the sky line. Usually these bodies of smoke were sinister or sickly colors like a putrid green or blood red. Pastel purple was a nice change. Still, he would much rather be at home curled up on his beat up sofa with a tub of ice cream. It was one of those days, correction...it was just one of those years.

He swooped down into the area just as the cloud dissipated into the air and vanished out of sight, but the street where it had been was chaos. Puddles of purple liquid stained the road and sidewalk. People frantically waved their arms and shouted out in a jumble of words that made absolutely no sense.

“Pider-Man-say! Elp-hay us-ay!” One person shouted, when they spied the hero swinging down and perching himself on a lamp post.

“What? What happened?” He asked, seeing no sign of an actual fight. It looked like someone had spilled gallons of paint and then just up and left.

“Ere-tay as-way a trange-say id-kay!” The stranger exclaimed, pointing up towards the sky where the cloud had vanished.

“Huh? I can't understand you. Talk slower.” Spidey shook his head, was he hearing things? It sounded like English but he hadn't caught a word of what the man was speaking.

“Obody-nay an-cay.E-shay ombed-bay us-ay ith-way omething-say.” The man blabbered on. Peter tuned him out and tried to listen to the other frantic New Yorkers babbling in the street. Illiterate jargon spewed from their mouths like a running faucet. It was maddening.

“What's happening here?” Spidey turned when he heard the familiar voice, smiling under his mask at Deadpool, who had pushed his way through the crowd. He was relieved to see his regular patrol buddy, and dare he say, close friend.

“I'm not entirely sure. I just got here. Did you see anything?” Spidey leapt off the light to join the mercenary on the ground.

“Yeah, saw this big purple cloud. I thought there was some sort of party going on and I wasn't in the mood to miss out.” He joked. “Though, it looks like someone crashed this party and spilled the punch.” He huffed, wandering over to a puddle of purple goop and sticking his finger in it when Spidey turned to look up the street.

“I can't understand a word of what anyone is saying. It's all a bunch of nonsense. I don't think it's any actual language. It's like a jumbled mess of English...like if someone could speak dyslexic.” Spider-Man thought aloud, trying to figure out who and what had done this. He needed a sample of that strange liquid. He turned back to Deadpool just in time to see him with his mask rolled up, sticking a purple coated finger in his mouth.

“W-Wade no!” Peter exclaimed, but it was too late, the mercenary was already tasting the stuff. He watched as a scrunched up expression crossed over the mercenary and his tongue lulled out in disgust.

“Hat's-tay asty-nay.” He barked then paused, shocked by the strange words that stumbled from his lips.

“Oh god.” Peter groaned as Wade's face split into a huge smile.

“Ig-pay Atin-lay! Ive-gay e-may ore-may of-ay is-thay tuff-say.” Wade was all too happy as he pulled a tiny flask out of the many pouches on his belt and began to fill it up with the purple goop.

“I hope that's meant to be a sample. I can take it to a lab and look for a cure to this...speech jumble.” Peter groaned, confused on even where to begin on a case like this. Everyone in the streets was too focused on trying to communicate with one another that it was practically impossible for him to get a lead on who had done this in the first place. By now the fire department had showed and was attempting to dilute the purple puddles and wash them from the streets completely. The crowd was starting to thin as some hurried to hospitals and others took to expressing their unspoken grievances over social media.

Whatever had happened, the threat seemed to be gone and Peter quickly pulled Wade away from the scene. He guided the chattery mercenary down a back alley and up a fire escape where they could discuss a further course of action on the roof.

“Why did you lick that...stuff back there? Now I can't understand a word of what you're saying.” Peter sighed as he slumped against a metal vent box. His day had already been a bit rough, but he should have known NYC would throw something else at him.

“It's-ay ig-pay atin-lay.” Wade rolled his eyes as if the answer to everything was so obvious and Spidey was missing out on some city wide practical joke.

“You know I can't understand a word of what you're saying.” He groaned, throwing his arm over his eyes as the setting sun cast bright yellow rheas at him. Maybe months ago Peter would have taken the whole situation in better spirits, thankful no one was hurt and nothing was destroyed. He probably would have come up with a book of quips just for this exact situation, but not anymore.

It was like the life had been drained out of him and his heart had been left with a gaping hole that he was too scared to fill. Wade sighed, giving the hero a sad smile, knowing all to well he was having “one of those days.” Ever sense his harsh break up with MJ it seemed like all of Spidey's days were “one of those days.” Wade didn't know much about it, only what Spidey would offer. But it had been rough on the hero and even after a year he was still taking things terribly.

{Why can't he just move on already?} Yellow grumbled in the back of his mind, unaffected by the purple slime.

[That MJ person must have really had a hold on him. He must've really loved her.] White sighed forlornly.

{We could help him love again.} Yellow offered, but wasn't answered by Wade or White. Instead the mercenary pulled out his phone and typed out a quick text. Spidey's phone buzzed almost instantly and he hastily retrieved the cellular device.

“It's Pig Latin.” He read the text aloud, casting the mercenary a curious look. “Everyone is speaking in Pig Latin? What...is this like some poorly timed April fools prank? Why Pig Latin?” He grumbled, letting his head smack back against the metal vent. He felt like whoever had done this was interested only in wasting his precious time. Instead of out saving people from muggers and thugs, he was stuck trying to find a cure to some bizarre liquid that made people speak nonsense.

“I am beyond confused on the motive behind this.” Peter sighed, he was tired. His body was tired from patrolling. His mind was tired from the constant loop of worrying, thinking back on his relationship with MJ and trying to pin point what he had done wrong.

“I ink-thay it's-ay etty-pray unny-fay....ould-cay ave-hay een-bay orse-way.” Wade tried to at least sound positive in his tone, hoping to ease the frustrated hero. He hated to see him like this. He wanted, no, needed the old Spidey back.

Carefully Wade took a seat beside the hero.

“Hats-way rong-way? I an-cay ell-tay it's-ay ot-nay he-tay ig-pay atin-lay.” He tried to sound concerned, but received nothing but a side glare from Spidey.

“Wade, if you really have something to say, then text it to me. Otherwise your'e going to give me a headache.” He grumbled. Wade nodded, typing out another quick text.

“You look tired.” Was what he decided on, trying not to prod too much into Spidey's personal business. Ever since the breakup he had to tread lightly with the hero. Practically anything could send him into a sorrowful self pity fest. He even had to lay off with his usual flirtations and praise of the younger man's perfect ass.

{I think it's time we start back up with those pick up lines.} Yellow huffed.

[He always took them as jokes.] White reminded them.

“We said them as jokes, he was in a relationship. But now...now we can be serious.” Wade thought.

[There's no way he would give us a chance, he refuses to get over her.]

Peter sighed when he read Wade's text, he was tired.

“It's just...been a long day.” He grunted, letting his head lull to the side and rest on Wade's shoulder. How long had it been since he had sat this close to someone? Wade's shoulder wasn't exactly the comfiest pillow, but the human contact was nice.

“ot-lay on-ay your-ay ind-may?” Wade asked, not bothering to text. He knew Spidey couldn't understand him, but he hoped just the sound of his voice was enough to urge him further into conversation. It was good to talk about feelings.

{Especially if it's Spidey's feelings.}

“I feel so...like what's the point anymore?” Peter continued, his voice small like he was talking with himself. “I just don't understand. I wasn't good enough for her...Spider-Man isn't good enough for her...I'm never good enough. Even half of NY hates me. And now I just feel like, if I couldn't even satisfy her then how could I ever...” He stopped, realizing he was spilling his guts to the mercenary. It was Wade's arm sneaking around him to give a comforting squeeze that made him continue.

“Sure I miss MJ, not as much as before though. I feel like I've gotten over her by now. But it's just...I've never been lucky with relationships. They've all ended similarly. But it really hurt this time, I felt so rejected. It hurt Wade...like it hurt a lot. And that's not something I ever want to feel again. I think...I'm done with romance. For good.”

{NoooOOOooo} Yellow shrieked.

[Yeah, hey at least give us a chance before you throw in the towel.] White agreed. Wade gave the hero a heartbroken expression, squeezing his shoulder gently.

“orever-fay?” He whined, as if deeply wounded. Spidey didn't respond, just continued to stare off at the setting sun.

“Ive-gay ove-lay a ance-chay. It'll-ay all-ay ork-way out-ay.” He encouraged him, rubbing small circles down Spidey's arm. The hero huffed a sigh, not wanting to admit how comforting it was sitting there against the mercenary. For just a moment the ache in his heart died just enough for him to feel normal, for only a moment.

{Y'know...} Yellow interrupted their serene moment, a mischievous tone hidden in his voice. {We could say literally anything we wanted to him right now...he wouldn't even understand it.} He chuckled manically.

[Oooooh, yes. That's so evil.] White agreed. Wade snickered under his mask, letting his head lean down so it rested on top of Spidey's.

“Aby-bay oy-bay.” He cooed, nuzzling his cheek against the hero.

“I told you already. If you have something to say, text it to me.” Spidey grunted, but pressed himself closer to the mercenary despite his frustration.

“You-ay ow-knay I ove-lay you-ay.” His voice dropped into a deep rumble of a whisper. “Ant-way o-tay old-hay you-ay lose-cay.” He continued, turning so he was whispering right into the hero's ear.

“W-wade what are you say-” Spidey shuddered as he felt the heat of the mercenary's breath ghost through his suit. His heart rate was beginning to rise as he tried to imagine what the man could possibly be saying.

“Ant-way o-tay iss-kay your-ay ips-lay.”

“W-wade...”

“Ake-may you-ay eel-fay ood-gay.” Then he leaned in impossibly closer and pressed a kiss to the hero's cheek. Despite the masks between them, a spark shot through Peter's heart and replaced his sorrowful ache with another feeling he recognized all too well; want. He wouldn't deny he had always felt a sort of attraction toward the mercenary, even when he was with MJ, but he had regularly pushed it down. Now was no different, he quickly bottled that stirring emotion and buried it away with the others. He had made a promise to himself, he couldn't let himself get high in love again, only to come crashing down into pain afterwards. Besides, Wade wasn't just Wade, he was Deadpool, a mercenary who was a bit on the crazy side. Teaming up was one thing but a relationship...

“No, stop thinking about it.” Peter screamed in his mind as he abruptly stood.

“G-give me the vial.” He held his hand out expectantly, ignoring the mercenaries' sly smile as he rummaged through his belt pouches. As soon as Wade handed over the sample, Spider-Man shot a web and fled from the roof.

{I guess he really didn't need a text to understand us.} Yellow hummed happily.

[Actions speak louder than words.] White added. Wade simply smiled, watching Spidey's silhouette against the warm ball of light slipping bellow the horizon. He wasn't about to let the hero give up on love without giving him a chance.

 

* * *

 

Darkness swallowed the corners of Peter's cramped apartment as he worked tirelessly into the quiet hours of night. He sat at his desk, his work illuminated by the flickering lamp that was clamped to it, and the small boxy TV he had gotten for five bucks at the local Good Will.

Deciphering the chemical makeup of the purple goo was a miracle in and of itself. It was a complex mixture that Peter had never seen before, but he wasn't giving in. He had to find a cure for the Pig Latin effect, Wade was annoying enough without speaking total jargon.

He wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, cursing his broken window unit under his breath.

“I'm sure Mr. Banner could come up with something to reverse this in a heartbeat.” he grumbled, slowly growing more and more irritated with himself. Perhaps if he had access to some of Stark's fancy equipment, he could have had this all figured out by now. Sadly, he was stuck with his own make shift inventions made from things he had found in local dumpsters. Just as he was about to call it and retire to his bed, the paid program playing on the TV was interrupted with breaking news.

“Good news NY.” Peter immediately turned his attention to the screen, surprised to hear the words “Good and news” in the same sentence.

“The strange outbreak of Pig Latin has been discovered to be temporary. People who were affected by this bizarre outbreak have been calling into the studio for the past hour, all claiming they were miraculously able to speak normally after a few hours.”

“Are you kidding me?” Peter groaned, glaring bitterly at the purple liquid he had been slaving over for hours.

“We interviewed several eye witness' at the scene who claimed it all happened when a mysterious purple cloud suddenly appeared over the street and began raining down a purple liquid. The liquid was supposedly what caused the Pig Latin outbreak. Eye witness' say the cloud was only there for a short amount of time before vaporizing into nothing, leaving purple puddles all over the street. Luckily the fire department has washed these all away and the streets are now safe again. What has everyone baffled is who the culprit of this Pig Latin practical joke is. We have a guest with us tonight, Mr. J. Jonah Jameson who has his own theories about where this purple smog originated from.” She rambled on but Peter had heard enough and quickly turned off the television. He was sure Jonah had no real information and was only using the opportunity to further pit NY against Spider-Man.

“At least Wade wont be speaking gibberish the next time I see him.” He yawned as he softly ran his fingers over his cheek where Wade had pressed a kiss. He stopped suddenly, mentally cursing himself for bringing up the mercenary at all. He should be trying to figure out who had pranked NY and not what “sweet nothings” Deadpool had been whispering in his ear.

“Forget it, don't think about it, put it out of your mind.” He muttered as he slipped into bed and let his heavy lids droop closed. “I'm done with this. It only leads to hurt.”  
However, despite the promises he made himself, he couldn't stop his mind from fathoming new ways to stir those hidden emotions. His slumber was constantly disturbed by images of MJ. Her face was framed in those familiar carmon locks as she gave him a warm smile.

“Hey there tiger.” Her voice whispered, echoing around him as she blew him a kiss. The familiar nickname brought a warm feeling to his chest as he recalled it fondly. Despite her lustful gaze, Peter couldn't bring himself to take a step towards her. She had hurt him and made it very clear they were done, he had finally gotten over her. So why, why was his brain torturing him with painful reminders of heartbreak?

“How bout a kiss?” She winked as she began to walk through the dark emptiness of his dream, slowly moving closer. A blackness all at once settled over her and soon Peter could only hear her footsteps as she approached.

“Don't tempt me MJ. I refuse to put myself through this again, I'm done with romance.” He called into the void. The footsteps stopped, but only momentarily. After a second he could hear them approaching again, heavier and faster than before.

“Baby boy...” The pet name cut through the darkness and struck a frail chord in Peter's heart. He inhaled sharply as Wade emerged through the midnight, clad in his red suit. “Don't give up on love, you haven't given me a chance yet.” His voice was like a predatory growl as he pushed into Peter's personal bubble. Peter was speechless, unable to move. His mouth hung open in surprise as those buried emotions rose from the grave, re-animated. Butterflies flittered in his chest and he could feel his pulse all the way down to the tips of his fingers.

Wade leaned down, pushing the Deadpool mask up so it rested on his nose. His breath tickled Peter's ear as he whispered those sweet nothings he had been trying to decipher.

“You know I love you...” he warmly cooed into Peter's ear, body pressed against him. “Want to hold you close.” He snaked his arms around Peter's middle pulling him flush against him. Peter's heart was swelling with that overwhelming sensation of first love. Excitement, want, joy, but it was also frightening. He had tried to keep these things all bottled up, he couldn't let himself be hurt again, especially not by Wade. Sure the breakup with MJ had been horrible, but with Deadpool... His worries were shewed away as Wade suddenly nipped at his ear.

“I want to kiss your lips, baby boy.” He growled, sliding his hands down to grip Peter's butt, squeezing and groping it playfully. “I want to make you feel so good.” And before Peter could even form coherent thought or gather a moment to calm his pounding heart, Wade's lips were pressed against his own.

The rough scarred texture sent shivers down Peter's spine and he sagged against the mercenary, going limp in his arms. He gripped tightly to his leather suit and let Wade take the reigns, slipping his tongue past the hero's lips to taste him.

Peter couldn't think, couldn't speak, couldn't fight it. It felt so good, so fulfilling after years of keeping things bottled up all for the sake of MJ and himself. It felt too satisfying to be cherished again, to feel wanted and loved after many failed relationships and harsh rejections. He didn't want it to end, didn't want to give up completely. Maybe...maybe he could give Wade a chance.

Then, as a cruel reminder, Wade vanished in a puff of smoke and Peter was left panting, cold and shaken in the blackness of his own mind. He was starting to feel it, those painful memories that seemed to follow with every love that came his way. The world around him changed and shifted until he found himself standing back in his old apartment, him and MJ's place. His hand was clenched tightly around the new lease papers, already signed with his name.

“I'm done!” MJ spat, she was standing across the room, fury written on her face. “I gave you enough chances, and you didn't change Peter. Is that how you see me? A baby? Is that all I am to you? Some other person in need of saving?” She threw her hands up in exasperation before disappearing into another room.

“MJ no, it's not like that. I'm just trying to keep you safe.” He called after her. She re-emerged with cardboard boxes and began packing away random items. How long had she been planning this? The living room was warping in shape around him, pictures hanging on the wall were blurry and out of focus, even MJ herself seemed only partially there. He couldn't hear her words as they became nothing but angry sounds muddled with his racing thoughts. He was over this, he thought he had finally moved on, why...why was he dreaming this again? He felt trapped, unable to move from that one spot in the room, it was like his feet were nailed to the floor. He looked about frantically, desperately trying to find a way to make this end, to block out the pain that would come when she said,

“It's over. We're done.” His head snapped up at the sound of Wade's voice. He was standing where MJ had been, mask pulled back down, but a bitter frown was evident through it.

“W-what.” Peter stammered, the lease papers in his hands disintegrated and fell into the abyss. He watched in fear as Wade strode across the room, standing just feet from him.

“I'm through with you.” Wade growled, jabbing a finger at Peter. And it hurt, it hurt like a bullet to the chest, ripping through his feelings and leaving a hole where love used to be.

“W-wait, Wade I don't understand...” The words fell from his lips involuntarily, forcing the scene to play out before him. He couldn't close his eyes, he could still see it, couldn't plug his ears, he could still hear. It was torture.

The mercenary bent down, eye level with Peter. He pressed his gloved palm flat against Peter's chest, just over his heart.

“I don't love you anymore. You...” Peter's breath hitched in his throat as Wade's hand sunk through his skin, past his muscle and between his ribs. He felt his fingers curl around his aching heart, squeezing it tight like a small water balloon.

“...aren't enough for me.” He hissed, clenching his fist until the throbbing heart in his hand popped and everything turned red.

“Wade no!” Peter cried as a severe shock of body trembling pain shook him awake and he found himself panting in his bed. The comforter was tangled around his legs, sweat dripping down his sides and cold tears trailed down his cheeks and pooled on the pillow.

It felt real, it felt all too real. His heart stung and pounded, as if Wade had actually gripped it like a vice and squeezed the very life out of him. This was why he had given up romance, given up relationships and boycotted love. The overwhelming pain that came along with it was tearing him apart and a real rejection from Wade may very well be his undoing.

Peter laid there for several long minutes, just staring up at the ceiling as he tried to calm himself.

“It didn't happen, it's not real. Calm down...calm down...” He gasped, clutching a hand over his chest. He didn't sleep anymore that night, and spent the remaining hours rebottling those feelings he had for Wade. He couldn't give in, no matter how hard it was.

 

  

* * *

 

 

As Peter went about the mundane activities of his day, he found it impossibly difficult to put the dream out of his mind. All he could think about was the expression of pure loathing seeping through Wade's mask as he “broke it off” between them. He couldn't shake the traces of pain his grip had left on his heart, as if his finger tips had seared burn marks into his flesh. What was worse was the way he would try to drift back to the kiss, the pet names and the loving caress of Wade's hands in an attempt to ease the emotional distress he was feeling.

He shouldn't be thinking about Wade, not when he was trying to work. And he especially shouldn't be meditating so much on a dream of all things.

“Get over it.” He hissed to himself as he finally retired for a lunch break. “It didn't happen. It was all a stupid figment of your imagination.” He tried to distract himself with the hypothesis a student wanted his help on, but his mind was keen to wonder. He wasn't any help as a tutor today, not with Wade on his brain. Usually he found his part time job, tutoring at his old college, as a great way to clear his thoughts and ground him back into the life of average day Peter Parker, but not today. Today he couldn't possibly be more distracted.

He finally let the paper slide from his hands and rest on the table, heaving a heavy sigh. The only hypothesis he could focus on was that he had feelings for the mercenary, and that he shouldn't have feelings for him...couldn't.

“I just signed off love, I can't...” He grumbled in frustration, slipping the student's papers into his bag and hurrying from the cafeteria. He left the campus in a huff of irritation, he hadn't gotten much done that day.

In a last ditch effort to clear his thoughts, he changed into his super suit on the safety of a roof. In hind sight, swinging around NYC as Spider-Man probably wasn't the best way to make him temporarily forget the mercenary. Spidey was a well known Deadpool magnet.

Sure enough, after saving a few pedestrians from careless drivers, Spidey caught a glimpse of the merc with a mouth trailing him just a few roofs away. He paused and watched as Deadpool quickly caught up, waving at the hero gleefully.

“Wade.” Spidey greeted him, debating if he should dart off, tell him he was tired or just let Wade tag along like usual. He didn't get the chance to make up his mind as the mercenary gave him a playful smile and a wink.

“I was feeling a bit down in the dumps today, but after seeing you, I'm on cloud sixty nine.” He joked. Peter grumbled, face palming himself as he immediately imagined Wade and him on a cloud doing...

“No!” He mentally smacked himself. He didn't need that swirling around with the thoughts of his recent dream. “This was a bad idea.” He muttered.

“So, stop any baddies?” Wade closed the gap between them, looping his arm over Spidey's shoulder. The two looked down at the street bellow and Peter cursed himself for getting worked up over the close proximity. It took every fiber of his being not to lean in to the mercenary and let him hug him close. He had been deprived of affectionate touches ever sense his breakup and he was starved of contact. That was something he knew Deadpool would willingly provide, but he couldn't give in to love's trap, not again.

Quickly he slipped out from under Wade's arm and paced to the other side of the roof, shrugging it off as nothing.

“A few.” He replied, avoiding eye contact with Wade. It was weird, especially after the dream...after that all too real kiss. He shuddered.

“You look grumpy, well...grumpier than usual.” Wade noted, following the hero as he walked around the roof. “Let daddy Deadpool help you out.” He closed the gap between them yet again, placing strong hands on Spidey's shoulders. He gave them a hard squeeze, massaging his thumbs into Peter's muscles.

Peter jolted, blushing furiously under the mask at Wade referring to himself as “daddy”. He was ready to weasel out of the mercenaries' grasp again, but the diligent finger's working the kinks out of his aching shoulders was enough to make him still.

“Sit.” Wade instructed, carefully pushing Spidey down until they were both seated on the roof.

“Take a minute to just relax and we can patrol later.” Wade reasoned, continuing to work out the tight knots in Spidey's back. Peter let a contented sigh escape him, not realizing how much stress he had been carrying around. With every passing moment Wade's soothing ministrations slowly erased all the worry and heartache from Peter's thoughts. He felt empty minded, weightless and completely content. So much so that he began to lean over until he flopped onto his side and rolled to lay on his stomach, wordlessly inviting the mercenary to work his magic on the rest of his back.

{He's like a puppy dog laying there waiting to be rubbed.} Yellow whined in the back of Wade's mind.

[He looks exhausted.] White noted. Wade nodded in agreement as he smiled under the mask. His heart did summersaults in his chest, knowing Spidey trusted him enough to lower his guard and let the mercenary soothe his aching muscles.

{You've set it up, now take it home.} Yellow urged him to take a chance. It'd been a while sense he flirted with the hero, but his feelings had never died.

[We've waited long enough. He's had his grief, now it's time for relief.] White agreed. Wade stilled his hands, letting them rest just above the hero's hips. His grip tightened slightly as he took a slow inhale.

“Feeling better?” He asked, watching as Spidey nodded his head sluggishly. Before the hero had a chance to get up, Wade moved up, leaning over him to whisper in his ear.

“You know I wanna make you fell good all the time.” He said, lowering himself just enough so their suits barely brushed together. Spidey inhaled sharply, eyes of his mask shooting wide open.

“W-wade!” He exclaimed, scrambling to get out from under the mercenary. “You can't whisper something like that in my ear!” He barked, jumping to his feet the second Wade moved out of the way. His heart was racing in his chest, his cheeks burning hot under the mask. All the thoughts, fantasies and emotions he had finally managed to bottle up came rushing back again and turned the hero into a bumbling mess.

“Aw, how come? You know I mean it. And I was so good, waiting and not flirting with you for months. I know you're still sad about it, but I want to make you feel better.” Wade tried to reason, holding his arms out as if offering a hug. Peter took a few steps back, grabbing the top of his head as he tried to fight the sudden urge to run into the offered embrace and drown himself in the warmth of Deadpool.

“Ugh!” He groaned, “I told you yesterday I was done with romance and love and relationships. I can't do that anymore.” He held his restraint.  
Wade was not deterred.

“I know you were hurt before, and you're probably scared of being hurt again...” Wade's tone grew serious and Peter couldn't help but stare in disbelief, unwilling to admit the truth behind the mercenary's words.

“But Spidey...” Wade stalked closer and Peter couldn't move, couldn't breathe as Wade reached a hand out and gently cupped his cheek, caressing him tenderly with his thumb.

“I would never hurt you.” Peter bit his lip. He wanted to believe him, he really did. Wanted to close his eyes, yank up his mask and close the distance between them. Wanted to let Wade fill that gaping hole in his heart and satisfy his need for affection and tenderness. But he had trusted before, he had stepped out into that world with the same expectations, only to be thrown back wounded, time and time again. And those gloved red hands, seeping into his chest, gripping his heart, squeezing every good feeling out of it until he was left breathless and suffering...that was a pain he never wanted to experience in reality. He knew, if Wade broke his heart, there would be no coming back.

“I can't,” he whispered, stepping away and letting Wade's hand fall back to his side. “I'm sorry I just can't...I don't...love you like that.” He lied in an attempt to convince himself. He then cursed himself, hearing his own weak voice, showing how close to tears he really was. No doubt his true feelings were displayed like a badge on his chest, in full view for the mercenary to see.

[Of course he doesn't love us. Why would we ever think anyone ever could?] White grumbled, accepting the rejection.

{He's may not love us but he could learn to if he got to know us better. Maybe if we showed him how much we loved him...} Yellow refused to let go of any signs of hope. Wade wasn't ready to give up either, his own feelings like an unstoppable force shoving him forward. He had to at least try.

“Let me take you out for a bite to eat at least.” he offered, trying to mask the sting of pain in his own voice. “Nothing fancy, just as...just as friends.” He didn't want to push the hero down a path he was unwilling to venture down, but he wouldn't stop wishing that maybe Spidey would change his mind.

Peter had to distance himself, had to get away from the mercenary in that moment. Otherwise, he was sure to give in. Putting himself on a Wade diet was by far the hardest thing he would ever do, it was pure torture.

“I'm beat, I really should get going.” He gave a lame excuse as he hurried for the edge of the rooftop, not seeing the defeated frown settle on Wade's mask.  
But before the hero could flee the scene, leaving things awkward between the two friends, there was an echo of car horns and screams that erupted into the air. Spidey turned on his heels instantly, watching as a puff of orange cloud rose from between the buildings only a block away.

“Wade!” He exclaimed, rushing in the direction of the commotion. “Hurry, maybe we can finally figure out who was behind that purple smog from yesterday. And don't drink any weird liquid you see!” He shot a web and swung off, the mercenary hot on his tail.

It was only a matter of seconds before they stopped on a roof close to the commotion. The orange cloud that was slowly rising into the air was pouring down a bright orange liquid, pelting the civilians bellow. Before Peter could even come up with a solution to make it stop, it evaporated, leaving behind deep puddles all over the ground.

“You go assess the damage while I look for-”

“ _THE BRITISH ARE COMING, THE BRITISH ARE COMING!_ ” Spidey was cut off as a woman drenched in orange liquid went racing down the street, screaming at the top of her lungs.

“Whaaaa-” Peter watched in bewilderment as several other soaked individuals began to parade around the street in a bizarre manner. One sopping wet man crawled on top of a car, standing tall as he began to speak to the hysterical crowd.

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation-” he went ignored as others began to ramble on with speeches of their own.

“That sounds oddly familiar.” Wade grumbled, scratching his head as he watched the chaos unfolding before him.

“He's reciting the Gettysburg Address. You probably remember it from Middle School or something.” Peter huffed, ignoring the history lessons taking place bellow and scanning the skyline for any signs of the person responsible for this new prank like attack.

“This all seems pretty harmless.” Wade noted, “Besides, the effects of the last one wore off on their own.” he shrugged.

“Sure but, we need to get to the bottom of this. Someone is obviously testing some weird concoction on these unsuspecting people. Who would go through the trouble of all this just for a prank? And who's to say next time they won't come back with something a little less harmless. I mean, this whole street is utter chaos. Look, that person over there is attempting to lead a French army to fight against Austria. People are reenacting history. What if someone thought they were Attila the Hun or...or Hitler!” Spider-Man rambled on, slowly beginning to freak out.

“Woah, calm down. No need to take things to the extreme.” Wade tried to reassure him. “It's not all that bad, not everyone got hit. Look at that girl down there, she thinks it's hilarious.” He pointed down at a young teenager who laughed to herself from the safety of her umbrella. She was holding her phone out, filming a woman who exclaimed,

“No bread? Well, let them eat cake!” Peter almost didn't give her a second thought, until he noticed her odd rubber gloves, rain boots, coat, hat and even goggles, she was suspiciously prepared for bad weather.

“It wasn't supposed to rain today...” He noted aloud, watching as she turned to film someone else.

“There Wade! That girl!” Spidey exclaimed as he leapt off the roof, swooping down towards the teen.

“What!?” Wade cocked his head but followed after the hero anyways, confused at his random outburst. Spidey's suspicions only seemed to be proven correct when the girl suddenly spied the two heroes and immediately bolted in the opposite direction. Peter ignored the mercenary and darted down the side street she had retreated too. There was no spidey sense, no warning tingling, just...pink.

The moment Spidey rounded the corner he caught a split second glimpse of the girl. She held a water gun, aimed directly at him and then he was soaked head to toe in a warm pink liquid that seeped through his suit and drenched him entirely. It ran through his hair, dripped down his face and pooled at the crease in his lips. His eyes were clenched shut, worried of getting any of the strange substance in them.

“Good luck catching me now! You'll be too busy falling head over heels for the first idiot you touch. This one lasts for weeks.” He heard a girl cackle somewhere in front of him. He tried to shoot a web but tripped over the curb and stumbled into a broad chest behind him.

“I can't....ugh!” Peter grumbled, wanting to wipe his eyes but unable to without unmasking himself. The moment he opened his mouth to speak he had tasted the sickeningly sweet liquid on his lips, making him shudder.

“Hey, woah, calm down for a second.” He heard Wade's voice behind him, his chest rumbling against Peter's back when he spoke. “I like the new color, pink really suits you.” Wade laughed, placing his hands on Peter's shoulders. The hero was hyper aware of the steadying hands on him, the muscular chest behind him and Wade's voice as he laughed warmly.

“I can't see.” Spidey huffed, leaning against Wade as the mercenary continued to chuckle.

“I'll take you somewhere you can clean up.” He said, scooping Spidey up into his arms. Peter didn't struggle, allowing his head to rest against Wade's shoulder. The mercenaries' tight grip around him made his heart flutter in his chest and he quickly snuggled closer. He knew he should be resisting, fighting off those fond feelings blossoming inside him, but he just...couldn't for some reason. He had a more pressing matter at hand than his own uncaged feelings. He had been soaked in one of those colorful substances and soon he too would face bizarre side effects.

“What was it that girl had said?” He thought to himself. “Falling head over heels?” He was quiet for a moment, tightly gripping Wade's suit as he ran. He could hear the heavy strum of the mercenaries's heart against his chest, hear the breath leaving the man's lungs. It was soothing, he wanted to fall asleep to that sound, curled up against Wade, safe and secure.

Then it hit him, like a sharp arrow through the flesh, embedding deep into his soul.

Love.

“Shit.”

 

* * *

 

 

 

“This can't happen...this can't be happening.” Peter quietly repeated to himself as he was carried bridal style across town. He still had his eyes glued shut, holding tightly on to Wade and trusting the mercenary to take him...somewhere. The pink liquid reeked of sweets and was starting to form a syrupy consistency. Peter groaned in discomfort, feeling sticky and gross in his suit.

“It's alright baby boy. We're almost there.” Wade assured him, unaware that the simple nickname had sent sparks flying through the hero's nerves that rippled down to his toes. Peter bit his bottom lip, his grip on Wade's suit tightening. As much as he tried to fight it, wanted to fight it, he couldn't deny that it was becoming impossibly harder to push back those feelings he had for the mercenary. There was no bottling them anymore. It was only a matter of time before he was confessing them verbally and giving in to whatever crazy flirtations the mercenary threw at him. All thanks to that dumb pink liquid.

Peter was able to distract his thoughts when he felt Wade open a door and the sound of the outside world was lost behind drywall and brick. They were ascending a pair of stairs and Peter suddenly realized he had no clue where the mercenary had taken him.

“Where are we?” He asked, his voice quiet and shaky.

“One of my safe houses. There's a shower you can clean up in. I got a washer machine too, we can toss your suit in there.” Wade offered as he opened another door and entered a small, rather neglected, apartment. With so many safe houses spread out around the city, he really didn't have the time to clean them and keep the dust bunnies at bay.

“Oh uh...thanks.” Peter gulped. He couldn't help but acknowledge how sweet it was of Wade to take him to one of his apartments where he could clean up in privacy. That, mixed with whatever chemical was in the pink goo, was making his heart squirm in his chest. His arms were itching to throw themselves around Wade's neck and pull him impossibly closer. He licked his lips, imagining yanking up his mask and kissing Wade softly. Oh how he missed the affectionate actions of love.

It wasn't until he was left in the bathroom, alone and with the door shut that he was able to take a deep breath and reign in his growing emotions. He ripped off his mask the moment Wade was gone and quickly locked the door. His breathes came in fast pants, his heart beating loudly in his ears. He needed to calm down, needed to get Wade out of his mind before he did something he would regret once the side effects wore off.

“You can do this, you can fight it. You're strong. You got your spider powers working for you. Just bottle it up and push it deep like always. No more love, no more pain.” He gave himself a small pep talk as he turned the water in the shower on, making sure it was cold and frigid.

He peeled the rest of his sticky pink suit off and stepped into the freezing stream of water. He shivered and wrapped his arms tight around himself as the cold drops pelted his shoulders and head. If only Wade had stepped into the bathroom at the moment. He would reach out of the curtain, grab him and pull him into the water with him, snuggling close to his chest for warmth.

“Ack! No!” Peter exclaimed, smacking his forehead. This was not helping. Imagining himself in the shower with the mercenary, skin to skin, cuddling close to him as the shower rained over them, that was a “no no”. Despite his inner voice, screaming for him to think of anything else, puppy videos, scenes from The Office, or Kermit memes, he couldn't push thoughts of Wade away.

In fact, he found himself obsessing over them, wishing the mercenary would barge in. His name was lingering on the tip of his tongue as he mindlessly scrubbed the pink goo from his hair. No doubt the mercenary would come if he called him. It was like a strong force was trying to squeeze the man's name from his lips, but he fought it, fought it with everything he had.

He finished washing in a haste, not allowing himself any time to get lost in a dream land.

“Scrub the pink from the mask, dry off, change, leave.” He repeated over and over again, muttering it under his breath in an attempt to keep himself focused and on track. Quickly he stepped out of the shower, dried himself off and pulled on a pair of clothes Wade had left folded on the sink. He ran his mask under the faucet, wiping as much goo from it as possible before pulling it on over his head. A shiver ran down his spine at the feeling of his damp hair trapped in his mask and pressed flat to his head, but it would have to do for now.

“Thank Wade and get out. Wash the suit at home.” He recited aloud before stepping out of the bathroom and into the cramped quarters of a dingy New York apartment. It was much like his own place, small, narrow hall, dim lights, cracked dry wall. The only difference was Wade didn't technically live here, this was just a safe house...Peter questioned his own career choices.

“Wade,” Peter called, cautiously stepping into the drab living room. There was nothing but a beat up leather couch and boxy TV. “Uh, I think I'm just going to head on home. Thanks for letting me use...” His words died in his throat when he felt a heavy hand rest on his shoulder. He spun around to find Wade, unmasked and sporting a pare of sweats and a loose T. The bedroom door across from the bathroom was now ajar, revealing a room packed with weapons and guns. But Peter payed it no mind, his eyes were glued on Wade's face.

He had seen it before, Wade had grown comfortable enough around Spidey to remove it occasionally, but Peter had always tried not to stare. It would be rude, right? To stare? Yet, it wasn't his scars or lack of hair that drew his attention. It was his dumb crooked grin, his soft blue eyes that had a smile of their own, and the chiseled jaw of a marble statue that made Peter gaze longingly at him.

His chest tightened and a long lost warmth spilled out of his heart and coursed through his veins, heating his skin. The breath he had been holding came out in a soft sigh and he leaned slightly forward into the mercenary's hand.

“Did you call me?” Wade asked and Peter shook back to reality, blinking suddenly. That was a close one. Immediately he shot his gaze down at his own feet, Wade's intriguing features were a trap he had to be wary of.

“Uh, yeah. I just wanted to thank you for letting me use your shower. Also, I think I'll head on home now. I can wash my suit at my place.” He shrugged, stepping out of the cramped hall and towards the only window in the living room.

“You sure you should be swinging home? Don't you think that could be a little dangerous?” Wade asked, following him into the living room.

“How do you figure?” Peter turned and folded his arms, positive Wade was just trying to cook up a way to make him stay longer. He wouldn't fall for it, not this time. If that girl was telling the truth, then the last thing he needed was to be around Wade. He was too much of a temptation, with his thick muscles, kind eyes, big strong hands and...

“Well I mean, you were basically soaked with some of that crazy liquid that makes people do strange things. Did you get any in your mouth?” Wade interrupted his thoughts.

“Oh uh...” He had, he remembered the tooth rotting sweet flavor it left on his tongue. “Yeah. But just a tiny bit.” He confessed.

“That's all it takes. Have you noticed any side effects already? I can't tell anything different about you? You could be swinging home and then wham, all of a sudden you freeze and can't move your limbs and fall flat to the pavement. Or...maybe it makes you float and you float off into space!” Wade exclaimed, pointing a finger up at the ceiling dramatically.

“It's not that kind of side effect. I'm not going to float away.” Peter huffed. He looked down at his hands, picking nervously at his nails. What would Wade say if he knew?

“How do you know? Did something already happen?” Wade scooted closer, eyes wide.

“Yes, I mean NO...kinda.” Peter fumbled with his words.

“Are you okay? Please tell me it isn't something bad.” Wade began to panic.

“I'm fine. It's just...that girl. When she soaked me with that pink stuff she said...said...” He couldn't tell Wade. It was too embarrassing. He could feel his cheeks burning under his mask, cooled by a few drops of water that leaked from his damp hair.

“What? She told you what she threw at you? Did you get a good look at her? I didn't see who you were chasing.” Wade added. He stepped closer until he could place both hands on Spidey's shoulders, grounding him in place. “You can tell me, we're pals.” He smiled, trying his best to be encouraging.

“She...” The words fell from his lips the moment he looked back into Wade's loving gaze. “She said it would make me fall head over heels for the first person I came in contact with.” He blurted it all out, biting his lower lip as he saw Wade's confused expressions while he processed the new information. Confusion changed to realization as Wade's eyes widened, then a sly grin snuck across his features.

“A love potion eh?” He chuckled, taking a step back and letting his hands rest on his hips.

“Wade this...this isn't funny.” Peter stammered, trying to ignore how cold his shoulders felt without Wade's hands there.

“Oh come on, it's a little funny. It'll only last until the end of the day. That's how long mine lasted.” Wade waved it off.

“She said this one lasts for weeks! I can't...I can't do this for weeks! It's already hard enough not to...” He growled to himself, cupping a hand over his mouth before he flat out confessed to the mercenary how he had been holding himself back from giving in to the strong emotions he was currently feeling.

“It's already kicked in hasn't it!” Wade exclaimed, a beaming grin up turning his lips. “Is it...working? Was I the first person you touched?” He calmed for a second.

{Our prayers have been fucking answered. Now he has to love us!} Yellow rejoiced in the back of Wade's mind.

[That doesn't mean he wants to deep down. It'll all be fake.] White figured.

{This will give us the chance to show him how much we care about him! We can take him on dates, buy him stuff, hug him and hold him close and treat him like the precious treasure he is!} Yellow completely ignored the other box.

Peter tried to calm his breathes as his heart fluttered and leapt, this was almost like a confession. Knowing that Wade was now aware of the mysterious side effects his body was going through only made it more tantalizing.

“Let's go on a date tomorrow, at lunch.” Wade suddenly broke the silence that had settled between them. He stared into the wide, uncertain eyes of Spidey's mask.

“Nothing fancy. Just you and me and pizza. We can talk and have a nice time...together. I know you told me you were done with love and I know this will eventually ware off. But I want to show you how much I really care about you. I want to show you what...what it could be like.” Wade gently grabbed Peter's hand, rubbing his thumb gently across his skin.

Peter could feel his hand trembling in Wade's grasp, a happy sensation of pure excitement and bliss shot through him. He felt like a school girl getting asked out by her long time crush, it was intoxicating.

“Yes.” He gasped out, shocked by his own words. It had been so quick, so easy that he hardly realized he had agreed. He didn't even get the chance to fight it, accepting was not even a question. A small pang of fear bubbled in him, how long before he was saying yes to other things and losing total control over his emotions? How long before he fell into love's trap again? How long before he was a sobbing mess of regret, heartbroken and miserable? Maybe if he ordered Hawaiian pizza he wouldn't enjoy himself as much, or give in to the manipulation the love potion had on his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope the pig latin didn't mess with anyone's brain...I about got a migraine trying to write it. Lol
> 
> Here is my insta for updates on the story and spideypool art.
> 
> https://www.instagram.com/wonky_writer/


	2. My Head Is Screaming, Get A Grip, Boy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the days slowly crawl by, Peter must battle between coming to terms with the effects of the love potion, or fighting to resist them. He tries everything he can to reverse the potion, but will it be enough?

**Love Potion Day 1**

 

Curious murmurs filled the street that early afternoon as Spider-Man was sighted walking the streets of New York in civilian clothes and a mask. It would have been easy for Peter to notice the whispers and confused glances as he briskly strolled down the side walk. But he was too preoccupied to pay the gossiping people of New York any mind. His hands were shoved deep in the pockets of his hoodie where he nervously fidgeted with the pop socket on the back of his phone. 

He had said yes to Wade's lunch date invitation, and now here he was, on his way to Anna's Pizzeria...as Spider-Man. It was a bit nerve wracking, to be out and about doing everyday kinds of things as his alter ego. Already the people of New York had taken notice to it, what would they say when they saw him grabbing a slice with Deadpool? However, despite his better judgement, he was refusing to back down. 

Well, that wasn't entirely true. He groaned to himself, feeling a bit tired after spending several hours awake last night typing and re-typing a text to Wade that he, in the end, deleted and never sent. He had concocted a million and one reasons to cancel and bail on their lunch date, but he just couldn't bring himself to send any of them. It was as if the “love potion” had stilled his hands and caused a nauseous feeling to bubble up in him as he imagined how disappointed the mercenary would be upon reading his cancelation text. So, he had given in to those feelings stirring in him yet again, and slipped into his best pair of skinny jeans...and the cleanest hoodie, he had. 

As he rounded the last block, he looked up, spying the pizza joint just across the street. 

“Here we go.” He muttered, taking a deep breath before jogging across the road. His heart was hammering in his chest, his nerves were shot. He could easily pin point a few other instances in his life where he had experienced that same exhilarating, stomach flipping rush. The first time he had put on his super suit was one of them, or the night he asked his high school crush to prom, or the day he had met the Avengers. He was nervous, but in the good kind of way. 

Finally, as he neared the restaurant, he spied Wade, sitting at one of the metal tables outside on the sidewalk. He had his mask on, phone in his hands, unaware of Peter coming down the block. Peter's heart leapt in his chest the moment he saw him, he could feel his cheeks burning under his mask, his whole face feeling hot. Wade was already tempting enough in his leather suit, his massive muscles snug in the tight outfit, practically popping every time he so much as flexed. But there was a certain charm to seeing Wade in a loose black hoodie and ripped jeans. He looked so much more welcoming and snuggly, like a large teddy bear. Peter's thought flashed images of him running to the mercenary and throwing himself into his arms, getting wrapped in a secure hug. He shoved that thought deep down, cursing the love potion, and forced his anxious legs to walk, not run. 

His phone buzzed and Peter quickly glanced at it before making himself known. It was Wade. 

“I'm here <3 are you close?” Was the text. Peter stepped up to the table, slipping the phone back in his pocket. 

“Yeah, I'd say I'm pretty close.” He forced a laugh when Wade flinched in his seat, looking up wide eyed at Peter. 

“Spidey! You actually came!” He beamed. Peter felt his breath hitch, frozen in place completely. This was happening. He was officially on a date with Deadpool...and he was excited. He wasn't the only one though. 

{He's actually here! Holy shit!} Yellow squealed. 

[For real, I thought we'd be stood up for sure.]

{Look at him he's so stinking adorable! Look at those tight skinny jeans! This is too real, oh wow.} Yellow prattled on and Wade felt like he could possibly have an aneurysm. 

“You hungry? This place is great.” Wade found himself asking, unable to look away from the piece of art before him that was Spider-Man in skinny jeans and a hoodie. 

Peter gave a small nod and the two walked inside together. The hero's hand twitched as the sudden urge to reach out and hold Wade's popped into his head. Just the thought made another blush rise on his cheeks, but it was oh so tempting. If they entered the pizzeria like that, everyone would know for sure that it was a date. And what would Wade say? Probably squeal for joy no doubt. Perhaps if he had given it more thought, he would have worked up the nerve to scoot in closer to the mercenary, loop arms together or even hold hands. Sadly, the moment was lost when the hostess finally showed them to their seats. 

She gave them a kind smile, and it was painfully obvious she was trying hard not to ask if they were the real deals. Luckily, she hurried off and left the two alone for another moment. 

“Order whatever you want, I'm paying. Personally, I'll probably go for the meet lovers...with extra sausage.” Wade smiled then gave a playful wink. 

“Don't...start those jokes now. This is so close to falling apart.” Peter tried to sound upset, but the truth was he was practically holding the edge of his seat, keeping himself in place and from reaching out for some sort of physical contact. 

“Whatever you say baby boy.” Wade shrugged, flipping through the menu, completely unaware at the effect the nickname was having on the hero across from him. Peter felt like the “happy” button in his brain had been smashed so hard it was jammed and emotions of pure joy and excitement were coursing through him. It was amazing, feeling that all over again. But it also horrified him deep down, he was slowly getting worse and worse. He was starting to enjoy the exaggerated emotions the love potion was creating. This was a dangerous game to be playing. He had messed with the flame of love before, and had come out burned, but the warmth it provided was luring him back in. Oh what a fool he was. 

By the time the waitress finally returned to their table, Peter hadn't even picked up his menu, let alone given another minute of thought to what he might want to eat. He had been too busy staring at Wade's hands as they gripped the menu. Even his fingers somehow looked strong, like he could snap a crow bar in half if he just squeezed it too hard. Peter gulped down the lustful whine that rose from the pit of his heart and forced himself to look up at the waitress instead. 

“And what would you like?” She asked patiently. Had she already taken Wade's order? How zoned out was he? This wasn't good, the love potion was so powerful he couldn't even focus on his surroundings. 

“I'll have a large Hawaiian Pizza.” He said, not even sure if they served that. He had never tried it before, solely for the fact that he didn't believe fruit belonged on pizza. That was just wrong. But he hoped that maybe the taste of it would help distract him from the warm butterflies that swarmed in his chest every time Wade so much as glanced at him. 

“So,” Wade's voice pierced through his mask and flipped a switch in Peter. The world around them turned to static and Peter was tuned in to the mercenary like he was the only thing worth watching. “How's life been treating you?” He asked. “And I don't mean like super hero stuff, I mean like life life. We haven't talked about that in a while.” And it was true, after his horrible break up with MJ, Wade had stopped asking how things had been, fearful of stirring up painful memories. But this was a date, and Wade figured it was about time Spidey was comfortable with him again. 

“I hope this isn't a round about way to try and figure out my identity.” Peter joked, but deep down he reminded himself that Wade couldn't find out what he looked like. Not now, not when he was ten seconds away from gently nudging the mercenaries shoe under the table with his own. If he revealed his identity to Wade, he knew it would be game over. Without the mask, he couldn't possibly hide the effects the potion was having on him. 

“Never.” Wade chuckled before leaning his chin into his hand and gazing at Spidey with the most warm, loving expression Peter had ever seen from him. He held his breath. Wade continued, “You know I respect your privacy baby boy...” Tingles shivered down Peter's spine, “and as much as I'd love to see your gorgeous face...” Peter's fingers clenched the edge of his seat, white knuckled, “I'd never want to pressure you into doing something before you're ready.” 

His love filled eyes, his nicknames, the way he called him gorgeous, Peter couldn't take it. He was losing the fight. He could feel his resolve slipping away as he slowly lifted his hand, reaching for Wade's. He had to touch him, had to feel his warm skin against his own. Had to rub his thumb over the scars adorning Wade's hand as an expression of the powerful emotions building inside of him. 

“Here are your drinks.” The waitress stated from seemingly out of nowhere. Peter flinched and jerked his hand back into his lap as she abruptly set a glass of iced water down in front of him. Wade gave her a kind smile and grabbed his own drink, unaware of Peter's lame attempt at holding his hand. 

When had he ordered a drink? No matter, he was glad to have it. His face was burning up under the mask and his own breath felt steamy. He quickly lifted his mask to his nose and swallowed a mouthful of water. He let a small ice cube rest on his tongue as he sucked on it slowly. He needed to cool down, needed to get control of his emotions again. That had been a close one. 

“You alright there Spidey?” Wade let his attention drift back to the hero in front of him, still waiting for him to answer his original question. 

“Y-yeah I'm cool...I'm fine.” Peter sighed, rubbing his thumb over the condensation outside his cup. “I uh, been thinking about looking for a new place or something.” He shrugged. The place he was at now was supposed to be temporary. After him and MJ parted ways, and parted from their apartment, he was forced to find a cheap place fast. It was a tiny two room thing, so cramped he could stand in the center, spread his arms, and practically touch opposite walls. 

“Oh yeah? That's kind of exciting.” Wade could tell Spidey, for some reason, wasn't too enthusiastic about it. 

“I guess.” Peter sighed. “It'd probably be more exciting if I had someone to share it with.”

“Darling, I'm home.” Wade sing-songed. “Or something along those lines.” Peter felt a warmth grow in his chest, imagining himself sitting at home, in a strange apartment, sitting on the sofa watching TV. When all at once the front door would swing open and in marched Wade, fully decked out in his Deadpool suit, but with the brightest smile. His arms were open wide as he exclaimed, “Darling I'm home!” And just like that, the gaping loneliness that ate away at the hero was momentarily filled. Oh how amazing it felt, knowing that Wade was excited to see him at home...at their home, everyday. They would share meals, warm snuggles on the sofa, small talk and deep conversations. It was a nice comforting thought and it made Peter want to hop up and go house hunting with the mercenary in tow. 

“Hmmm, too bad you've given up on love.” Wade remarked, giving Peter a sneaky look as he took a sip of his drink, eyes watching the hero over the edge of his cup. 

“That's right.” Peter thought quietly, he had given up on love. The wonderful vision in his mind vanished and that love starved hole in his heart returned, unsatisfied and empty. It had been a nice thought, Peter decided, brought on by the effects of the love potion. But, once the potion had run its course, Peter knew he would be glad he hadn't acted on such silly, fantastical ideas and impulses. 

Before they could start up in conversation again, the waitress returned, two pizza's in hand. The moment Peter laid eyes on his pizza, he felt and overwhelming wave of hunger. Hey quickly grabbed a slice and sunk his teeth into the cheesy goodness, ignoring the way it burned the roof of his mouth, hot out of the oven. He was too hungry. 

The pineapple disks blended with the ham in a sort of culinary symphony and Peter's tastebuds sang. 

“Why haven't I tried this before?” He hummed to himself as he stuffed another piece in his mouth. It was one of the most delicious things he had ever tasted. He was so completely engulfed in the amazingness of the Hawaiian pizza that he didn't notice Wade staring at him until he was on his 4th slice. He paused, mid chew, cheese stringing from his lips to the slice in his hand. Wade laughed. 

“Is it that good?” He teased, noticing a bright pink blush that dusted Spidey's cheeks, barely hidden by his rolled up mask. Peter nodded, swallowing what was in his mouth. He tried to eat slower, and refine his table manners a tad now that he was hyper aware of Wade's gaze on him. The butterflies in his stomach started up again, thrumming faster and faster. Peter couldn't eat another bite, his appetite was gone. So much for pizza distracting him from his feelings. 

“Talk to him, say something.” Peter's heart urged him, but his mind was drawing blanks. Desperate to keep himself from meditating on his ever growing feelings, his mouth spat out a sentence before he could properly think about it. 

“You look good in civies.” He exclaimed, before realizing what he had just said. Oh he could have curled up in a dark hole somewhere and died. A dark blush grew over his cheeks as he watched Wade freeze, pizza slice halfway to his open mouth. The eyes of Wade's mask widened, shocked into a motionless state. 

“You idiot!” Peter cursed to himself, clenching his hands over his thighs. “Why why **WHY** would you say something like that!?” It hadn't been a lie, but that just made the compliment so much worse. It was true, it came from the heart, and Peter realized the potion was starting to win over his will power. 

{Did he just say...} Yellow couldn't finish his sentence before White piped up,

[No...he wouldn't compliment us. No way. Never.]

“I don't get compliments often but that...I think that's what that was.” Wade thought. He was just about to thank the hero when Peter all at once began stuttering out words again. 

“Ah, w-what I mean by that is uh...It's just that I always see you in your Deadpool suit and it's different but nice to...uhm...see you in something else. Kinda surreal I guess.” He attempted to cover up his random moment of truth. It had been a minor slip up, he would recover, no harm had been done. 

“Oh, yeah I know what you mean.” Wade nodded, finishing his pizza. 

[See? Wasn't really a compliment. It was probably spurred from that love potion crap.]

{Well I'm going to pretend it was real and honest. You can't stop me.}

“You look great in civies too.” Wade offered back. Spidey's words may not have been from the heart, but that didn't mean Wade couldn't be truthful. “But I'm sure you'd look great in anything...and nothing for that matter.” He teased, laughing warm heartedly when the hero sputtered on his drink and gaped at him. 

“W-wade.” Was all he could manage as another strong urge to reach out and grab the mercenary in front of him coursed through his veins. With every little smile, every compliment and joke, Peter could feel the invisible force that pushed him towards Wade getting stronger and stronger. He wanted to hold his hand and trace his fingers over the dips and ridges of his scars. He wanted to lift up Wade's mask and see the smile in his blue eyes. He wanted to press against the mercenaries' chest, burry his face in the crook of his neck and snuggle into the warmth of Wade's arms wrapped around him. He wanted it, wanted it more than he ever had before. It was horrifying. 

Peter wasn't sure if it was the love potion, or Wade's constant jabbering that slowly calmed his nerves and numbed the fear that bubbled in him. All Peter knew was that by the time Wade had payed and they were walking out of the door, the need to be physically close to him was so strong it was almost painful. 

Peter's hands trembled as he gripped his “to go” box tightly. Wade was standing a foot or two in front of him, blabbering on about what a great time he had and how he had expected him not to show. This was it, Peter sucked in a deep breath. He couldn't fight it anymore, his skin burned for contact, for Wade. 

“We should do this more often...” Wade was saying but stopped when Peter suddenly stepped forward and wrapped both of his arms around him, hiding his face against the mercenaries' chest. They were both quiet for a moment as Peter continued to stand there, just letting himself feel and indulge in his urges for the first time in months. Wade was warm and strong against him, his hoodie soft and inviting. His heart beat was a soothing rhythm in Peter's ear and his chest rumbled when he finally spoke. 

“Spidey...are you okay?” He asked, finally relaxing as he cautiously hugged the hero back. 

{He hugged us! WHAT IS HAPPENING! IS THIS EVEN REAL?} Yellow shrieked. White was quiet. 

“I just...I need this for a second.” Peter muttered, keeping his eyes clenched shut as he leaned against Wade completely now. “It's just the love potion though, so don't get used to this.” He warned, hoping to make it clear to Wade, and himself, that this wasn't going anywhere. This wasn't real, it couldn't be real. 

“Of course baby boy, whatever you need. You know I'd do anything for you.” Wade whispered as he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to the top of the hero's head. Spidey's arms tightened around him for a moment more before he pushed himself off and yanked his mask all the way down, hiding his blush stained cheeks. He was seconds away from tossing all his cautions to the wind and just saying “fuck it.” But he had reminded himself of that terrible dream, of those cold hands slipping under his skin and squeezing the life out of his heart. The pain was real, and love would only lead to more of it. He wouldn't let that happen. 

“Thanks Wade. This was nice but...I think maybe it would just be best if I rested this one out.” He sighed, biting his lip as his heart throbbed and twisted inside of him. The last thing it wanted was to be farther from Wade. But he was willing to suffer through it, he'd thank himself later. 

“Oh, I see.” Wade tried but he couldn't hide the disappointment in his voice. “Well, I'll catch you later then. Once you're feeling back to normal. But if you need anything, just give me a call.” Wade couldn't help but feel like he was losing the one chance he had been given as he watched Spidey walk off down the street and disappear out of sight around the block. He loved the hero so much, if only Spider-Man could see that. 

 

**Love Potion Day 2**

 

Peter was strong willed, that much was true, but even his stubborn spirit seemed to be no match for the love potion that was coursing through his veins and poisoning his heart. At least, that's what he had decided to call it, a love poison. 

After the pizza date he had immediately ran home and locked himself in his apartment, bolting the door and closing the blinds. He had even shut himself up in the bathroom for the afternoon, keeping himself in the tub in an ice cold bath. But just like before, it did nothing to ease the heavy emotions and overpowering want he was experiencing. Wade was all he thought about, Wade was all he wanted, Wade, Wade, Wade. Peter convinced himself that something had to be done, for the sake of his sanity. He had given in during the date, allowing himself that one hug. He wouldn't crumble again, the poison may have control of his heart but he wasn't giving it control of his mind. 

Every time he thought about texting him, calling, or donning the suit to try and find the merc with a mouth, he would remind himself of that horrible dream. He had even put Wade's contact on mute, knowing if the mercenary was to text him, it would only make things harder. The pain he felt when Wade's fingers buried deep in his heart, and ripped it out of his chest, and crushed it like a stress toy, was enough of a reminder to keep his head cleared...for now. No matter how desperate the want, he couldn't let his dream become a reality. 

As he stood in his tiny square of an apartment, towel wrapped around his waist, slippers on his feet, he weighed his options. 

“Ok Peter,” he muttered under his breath as he rummaged around for his cleanest pair of lounge about pants. He really needed to do laundry. “You can either lock yourself up in your dump of an apartment and try to wait out this poison, avoiding Wade at all costs. Or...” He pulled his Spider-Man suit out from the bottom of a laundry heap, frowning at the pink goo that still clung to it. “You can try and make a cure.” 

Before his idea had fully formed Peter darted over to his desk in the corner, chucking the suit down on the middle of it. He searched his room like a crazed animal, throwing papers and clothes, and opening drawers so fast they practically fell out completely. Finally he pulled three small test tubes from his kitchen cabinet and hurried back to his desk. He scraped every last bit of pink goo from his suit until all the test tubes were filled. 

Immediately he began work, testing and re-testing the substance, trying his best to figure out what elements it was composed of. Although he had failed to crack the Pig Latin potion, he was not deterred. He had to reverse the effects, what other option did he have? 

All that night he slaved away over the vials, failing time and time again to discover the substances in the goo. He would have stayed at his desk longer if his morning alarm hadn't gone off, startling him out of his deep thoughts and making him nearly drop one of the vials. He blinked at the clock in confusion. 

“Morning already? It was late afternoon like...five minutes ago!” He thought aloud, cursing at himself as he leapt from his chair, his towel slipping from his waist. The cold air in his apartment nipped at his bare skin as he shimmied into the cleanest pair of pants he could find. Quickly he packed up his bag, grabbed a bottle of water from his fridge and a vile from his desk and left the apartment for his job at the university. He hoped that keeping himself busy would be the best way to clear his mind and help him focus on making a cure, but no matter where he went, he couldn't run away from the effects of the potion. 

Even after a long morning of editing papers, after he had confined himself to one of the school labs, bent over a microscope as he examined the potion, the insistent reminders of love still found him. 

“Peter!” The sudden sound of someone calling his name made him lurch forward, smashing the microscope against his eye. 

“Ow, god.” Peter hissed, reeling back as he clutched a hand to his throbbing face. 

“Oh shit! Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you like that.” Peter turned, hand still covering his eye, to face a student who was making his way toward him. 

“No no, it's ok. I tend to get myself too wrapped up in whatever I'm doing. I should pay more attention.” He joked, letting his hand rest by his side. “Do I look like the Target dog?” 

“Ooooh,” The student gritted his teeth, wincing in sympathy as he neared Peter. “ah...maybe a bit.” 

“At least I wear a mask half the time.” Peter thought to himself, as he smiled at the student. “So, what can I do for you Curt?” He motioned to one of the stools near the table as he took a seat. 

“A few things actually. But first I was wondering if you had the chance to look over my Hypothesis? I hate to rush you, I know you got a lot of other student's stuff to look at. It's just that I'll be going out of town for Spring Break in a few days and I wanted to get it before I left.” He explained. 

“Oh sure, yeah I looked at it. Pretty sure it's in my bag. Let me just grab it.” Peter reached across the table, rummaging through the notebooks and files in his backpack. “So where you headed for Spring Break?” He asked while he looked for the hypothesis, not entirely caring about Curts answer, just trying to make small talk. 

“Florida.” He quickly answered, sounding way too pleased about it. Peter held in a sigh, he could have guessed, Florida was a hot spot for Spring Break. 

“That's a little far for a week of partying don't you think?” He teased, finally finding the hypothesis and handing it over to Curtis. 

“I'm not going to party or anything. My girlfriend is visiting her grandparents and I'll be going with her.” The smile on his face noticeably grew. 

“Oh...how nice.” Peter tried to match his enthusiasm, but just the mention of a girlfriend, or a romantic partner for that matter, had the potion in his system working over time. He could feel his heart rate rise and a heat rush through his body as images of Wade, laying out in the warm sand of Palm Beach, flashed through his mind. He was sprawled over a Spider-Man themed towel, heels digging into the pale sand. The sun kissed his scarred skin that was out for all the world to see. He wore nothing but a read and black speedo, shades, and a bright smile. Suddenly, Peter wanted to go to Florida too. 

Peter quickly spun back to his bag, pretending to look for something else as he tried to hide the dark blush creeping over his cheeks. 

“Well that sounds like fun.” He managed, hoping Curtis would take his hypothesis and leave. 

“Yeah, it will be. She told me I shouldn't bother coming at first. Her grandparents live in a retirement home in a small town away from all the tourist attractions and beaches. But I couldn't care less about any of that stuff. I had to tell her that as long as I was with her, I would be happy.” He sighed longingly, no doubt thinking of the girl waiting for him in Florida. 

“Hmmm, well I hope you have a safe trip.” Peter tried to end the conversation, the potion was starting to stir those emotions inside of him and he was itching to retrieve his phone and dial up Wade, inviting him to a long weekend down in the southern sun. It was a ridiculous idea and not helping his resolve in the slightest. 

“I just can't wait to get down there. I miss her so fucking much.” He complained. “Like, my friends don't get it, Peter. They wanted me to hit them up in Miami instead. I don't even want to go clubbing with them if she wont be there. This has to be love, that's what I told them anyways. To miss a person this much just doesn't have any other natural explanation.” He finally slipped off the stool and folded the hypotheses paper into his pocket. 

“Yeah that sounds about right.” Peter hummed, not entirely focusing on his answer as he pretended to look through the microscope again. “See you later Curtis.” He dismissed him.

“Oh wait!” Curtis spun back around. “I almost forgot. A friend of mine said she was looking for an English tutor or something like that. I'm not too sure about the details, but would you be willing to do a little freelancing?” Peter was all too eager to jump at the opportunity of some extra cash and quickly looked back up from his work. 

“Sure!” He smiled, glad Curtis was talking about anything other than his girlfriend and his deep overflowing love for her. 

“I'll let her know after Spring Break. Thanks again.” He called as he finally left Peter alone in the labs. 

“What a hopeless romantic.” Peter sighed, rolling his eyes. His conscious was quick to reminds him that he, in fact, was the one who had been hopelessly thrown into romance. He couldn't deny the fact that the whole reason Curtis' presence was bothering him was due to the emotions that stirred in him whenever Curtis spoke about his love. It served as a forceful reminder of his own feelings he was currently suffering from. The disease of love was bent on making his life a living hell. 

It was hard enough keeping his emotions bottled down and his impulses restrained. His mind was ever wandering back to Wade and it was becoming exhausting trying to distract himself with other things. To top it all off, he was getting absolutely nowhere with his attempts to craft a cure to the love potion. 

He stayed in the lab, toiling over the pink vile until the campus was closing and he was forced to leave the school grounds. Despite the grueling, tireless hours he spent trying to get anywhere with the potion, he had failed to even identify what the goo was made of. He wasn't any closer to ridding himself of the unwanted emotions than he had been yesterday. 

“There's got to be other ways.” He muttered to himself as he boarded a crowded subway car, headed home. He positioned himself in one of the few empty seats, burying his nose in his notebook and avoiding eye contact with any of the other passengers. He tried to read over his random scribbles and notes about the goo, but it was doing nothing but frustrating him further. 

The subway sped through the dark tunnels under New York, carrying a menagerie of passengers. Most of them were used to all sorts of strange occurrences happening on the subway; fist fights, druggies, celebrity spottings, you name it. Many people would mind their own business, or turn a blind eye. However, when the subway reached the next stop, the passengers in Peter's car were quick to shuffle out when a butchered, blood dripping, walking corpse limped into the subway and took a seat in the corner. 

Peter, who didn't even look up, due to no warning from his spider sense, stayed in his seat, totally unaware that his subway cart had just emptied out. He slid down comfortably in his seat, letting his legs spread a bit wider, aware that the seats beside him were now empty and he no longer had to sit like a sardine squashed in a can. It was oddly peaceful, and perhaps he would have noticed the unnatural quiet if he wasn't looking back on his conversation with Curtis. 

“A vacation probably would do me some good.” he muttered quietly to himself, still staring at the writing in his notebook, but no longer reading any of it. “Wonder if Wade would be interested in going out of town for...” He stopped that train of thought, biting his lower lip as an angry blush spread over his cheeks. “Nope!” He exclaimed aloud, clapping his notebook shut abruptly. He leaned down to grab his backpack resting on the floor between his feet. However, he paused, just now noticing a bloody red puddle on the floor near the door, merely feet from him. Carefully he looked up, following the crimson smears with his eyes until he spied the familiar figure leaning against the subway wall in the corner. 

Peter's breath caught in his throat, his stomach lurched and some invisible force punched him right in the heart. 

“W-wa...” He clamped a hand over his mouth, preventing Wade's name from stumbling out. His first instinct was pure concern. Wade was a bloody mess, his suit torn in multiple places and riddled with bullet wounds. He looked like an over abused pin cushion. The bottom of his mask had been ripped to shreds and Peter could see the pained grimace on his face with every labored breath. As his chest slowly rose and fell spurts of blood bubbled out of one of the bullet wounds that had, no doubt, torn through his lungs. 

Many things raced through Peter's mind. Who had done this to Wade? How did he manage to get on the subway in such terrible condition? What could Peter do to help?

The hero immediately stood from his seat, taking a step forward, but he froze seconds later. 

“What am I doing?” He screamed to himself, he couldn't talk to Wade. What if Wade recognized his voice? What if, by some horrible witchcraft, he would know Peter was Spider-Man if he got any closer? 

Peter reached out and grabbed the metal bar near the doors, trying to ground himself. He felt completely torn. Every part of him wanted to run to Wade and do everything he could to make the pain go away until his healing factor could fix him up. But, at the same time, every fiber of his being wanted to jump out of the Subway window and run for the hills, putting as much distance between him and Wade as possible. 

For a split second Wade looked up, and the tired white eyes of his mask met Peter's. He didn't say anything as he looked the unfamiliar man over then let his head lull back to the side. A chill rushed down Peter's spine, Wade didn't know, but he couldn't help but feel exposed under the mercenary's gaze. He could feel the subway starting to slow down, they were nearing his stop, but Peter's eyes didn't leave Deadpool's beaten figure. 

He felt a pain twist around his heart and he acted on instinct. Peter snapped from his frozen state and unzipped his backpack, rummaging around until he found that unopened bottle of water he'd taken from home. Not allowing himself another moment to chicken out, he stepped forward and approached his blood soaked friend. 

Immediately Wade snapped his head back to look at him, frowning with skepticism as he watched Peter carefully. 

{What does this cute twink want?} Yellow grumbled in Wade's mind. 

[He's been watching us ever sense he noticed we were over here.] White added. Wade didn't comment, it was too painful to even think of a reply. Instead, he watched as the stranger cautiously approached, wordless. He noticed the way he timidly bit his bottom lip, the white knuckled grip he had on the water and the way his eyes began to look down at the floor the closer he got. He was clearly horrified, but why the young man was even approaching him was beyond Wade. 

The subway finally pulled to a stop and the car doors slid open. Peter was close enough now to reach over and cup Wade's cheek with his hand, like he so badly wanted to do. He was close enough to wipe away the trail of blood that dripped from his mouth and down his chin. He was close enough hold his hand and sit beside him, whispering encouraging words as the mercenary healed. Instead, he placed the bottle of water in the seat beside the mercenary and turned, rushing out of the cart as he felt salty tears beginning to brim in his eyes.

[...That was weird.] White noted as Wade reached over with a shaky hand and undid the lid to the water. He gulped it down gratefully, watching the kind stranger disappear out of sight.

{I like him.}

Peter wiped the stubborn tears from his eyes all the way home. He wanted to do so much more for Wade, but all he could offer was a stupid bottle of water. He hadn’t even given any encouraging words of support. It made him physically sick. It hurt, the stinging in his heart hurt when he turned his back on Wade, when he clearly needed help. It hurt when he fought all the unnatural emotions coursing through him, the love potion hurt. He had to get the love potion out of his system, one way or another. 

 

**Love Potion Day 3**

 

Wade flipped through a manilla envelope, the latest in his long line of hired S.H.I.E.L.D missions. Inside was the location of the most recent sighting of Hit-Monkey, Wade's target. He wasn't too big on the details. Fury had mentioned something about the monkey losing his marbles and turning on his fellow agents. Whatever it was, Wade knew things must have gone to hell, because they only ever got him involved when things were bad, like...really bad. 

[Where is he headed now? We owe him big time after yesterday.] White seethed, he had been oddly grumpier than usual. Wade wanted to blame White's sour mood on the fact that Hit-Monkey had handed him his ass yesterday and left him a bloody mess. But, White had been ill several hours before they even had their run in with the ex S.H.I.E.L.D agent.

{Do we have to take this job? I miss Spidey! It's feels like forever since we last saw him and he hasn't answered any of our texts!} Yellow whined. Wade tensed at the mention of the hero's name. He wanted nothing more than to spend his hours patrolling with his baby boy, but it was fairly obvious that Spidey was avoiding him. His heart ached. 

[Urgh! Enough with this emotional sob fest! Spidey is too good for us. We need to focus on getting that damn monkey so we can make some damn money!] White barked orders. 

{You can't fool me, you're mad we haven't seen him.} Yellow prodded. That seemed to shut White up and Wade was finally able to finish reading the file. He tried his best to block out Yellow and push thoughts of Spidey out of his mind as he gathered his weapons and left his apartment. He stepped into the narrow hall of his building, waiting for the elevator to reach his floor. He watched the number over the closed metal doors slowly rising, and tried not to think about the slew of unopened texts he had sent Spidey. 

* * *

 

Ding, the timer on the microwave went off and Peter hopped from his desk chair to retrieve his re-heated Hawaiian pizza. 

“Another way to protect yourself from a love hex is to carry around a protection charm like this one...” Peter kept his eyes trained on the Youtube video he had pulled up on his laptop as he grabbed a drink and brought the re-heated pizza over to his desk. 

He listened to the woman in the video ramble on, promoting her handmade charms. Earlier that day he had spent hours swinging around NY, searching for any signs of the potion girl. If he could only catch her, perhaps he could convince, or even trick her, into giving him a cure. Of course, with his Parker luck, he had come home empty handed, not any closer to ridding himself of the love potion.

So he had turned to the internet, quickly finding himself immersed in random blogs and videos all about curses and spells. Peter's problem was that he didn't know if the potion was magic based, or science based. Whatever it was though, he was positive the woman in the video didn't have any advice that could help him. After reading a few of the comments, it was clear she was simply promoting her homemade “charms”...past buyers were not satisfied. 

He clicked out of her video and quickly found another one titled, “Breaking Hexes Without Magic.” Peter gave a deep sigh as the video began and a man came on screen. 

“One of the most powerful things in our known universe is the human mind.” He stated, and Peter was only half listening as he went to take a bite of his left over pizza. 

“There are some spells that manipulate our senses and trick our brain into thinking that something that isn't, really is.” He continued. Peter was beginning to take slight interest when the strange tang of pineapple smacked his taste buds and collided with the ham and cheese in a terrible storm of flavors. He immediately stopped chewing. 

“With these few exercises, you can learn to take mind over matter. Everything in the body begins and ends with the mind. Follow these steps and you'll be able to prevent mind tricking hexes from effecting you.” The man promised, but Peter hadn't heard a word he said. He was pre-occupied, leaning over the trash can as he spat out the worst pizza he had ever tasted. 

“I'm hungry, but I'm not  _that hungry_!” He exclaimed, trying not to gag and dumping the rest of the uneaten slices into the garbage.

“What happened to this pizza? It tasted great when I was with Wade...” He paused, replaying the date back in his mind. A strong hunger began to build inside of him, but food wouldn't satisfy it. Peter shook his head and quickly smacked his laptop closed as he stood back up to rummage through his cabinets for anything else he could eat. He settled for a half eaten bag of Doritos and returned to his computer and the wild goose chase he was on to find a cure. He tried not to think about Wade. 

The neons of the city seeped through the crack in Peter's blinds, leaving streaks of blue and colored light on his floor. This, and the bright glow of his laptop screen was the only thing illuminating his cramped room. Hours slipped by and Peter was gradually growing more and more discouraged. Not only was he finding no results online, but he was failing to keep Wade out of his thoughts. He reminisced about their date, about the warm hug he had given him, and the pain he felt when he left him wounded on the subway.

For a while now he had started to feel a twist of pain tightening around his heart, he was all too familiar with it. That, mixed with exhaustion and the light bubbling hunger is his stomach, was beginning to make his whole body ache and he finally gave in and turned in for the night, retreating to his bed. 

He slipped out of his jeans, into his boxers and a loose T-shirt, and crawled under his covers, staring at the ceiling as he waited for sleep to naturally take him. It never did. 

Chills ran down his spine as he became aware of the empty cold that seemed to soak into his apartment. He pulled his comforter tight around himself, but it did nothing to ease him. A headache was beginning to form behind his tired eyes and sleep was starting to feel more and more out of reach, despite his fatigued body. 

Naturally, his mind conjured up the most comforting thought it could in an attempt to ease him to sleep. Peter pictured himself curled up against Wade's side, the mercenary's arm wrapped around him and pulling him tight into the warmth of his body. A contented sigh escaped him and his muscles relaxed just thinking of it. He pictured Wade's fingers gently caressing him, rubbing small circles over his bare skin. He wanted more. Peter suddenly sat up with a gasp, smacking his forehead in frustration. 

“Stop! I can't do this!” He shouted into the darkness of his apartment. He felt like he was trying to break an addiction cold turkey, and his mind was set on tempting him with the one thing he couldn't have. He was already in pain, so much pain, just from avoiding the mercenary. When he thought about Wade, thought about how badly the potion made him just...want, his pain would double ten fold. 

Peter curled in on himself, hands clenched tightly in his hair. 

“Why?” He sobbed, but he knew all too well why. The potion coursing through him was to blame. It was too strong for him, he had tried almost everything to win this battle, and already, within just three days, he knew he would lose. He wanted Wade, needed Wade, and dare he say it, loved him. It wasn't Wade's fingers curled into his heart, making him hurt like this, it was his own. He was holding so tight to it, scared to let it love again, and it was causing anguish. Sure the break up with MJ had been bad, but this, this was somehow worse. 

Peter scrambled to grab his phone from his nightstand, hot tears streaking down his cheeks. He hated himself for giving in to the love potion, but all he wanted right now was for the mercenary to hold him tight and end his suffering. 

He opened his messages and clicked on Wade's name. A group of unread texts appeared and they only widened the gaping hole he felt inside of him. 

“Enjoyed our date <3 <3 <3 R u sure you don't want to grab lunch again?”

“I know you said you wanted to sit this one out on your own, but I want you to know that I'm here for you and if you need anything at all, just let me know <3” 

“You feeling alright baby boy? Haven't heard from you. Miss your sweet ass <3”

“I'll be at our usual place tonight if you want to patrol.” 

“Not trying to bug ya Spidey, but the boxes are worried and now I kinda am too. Are you ok?” 

“Plz let me know you're safe”

Peter felt like a complete asshole, he hadn't realized how his silence might lead Wade to believe he could be in trouble. There was a decent time gap before Wade sent his last text, and Peter had to scrub the tears from his eyes in order to read it. 

“Took a mission. Wont be out to patrol for a while. Stay safe.” Peter immediately wondered if that had anything to do with the horribly beaten state he had found Wade in on the subway. If he had been with him, he could have helped with the mission, could have kept him from taking so much damage. With shaky fingers, Peter typed out a response, hoping it wasn't too late and he hadn't ruined everything for good. 

“Wade. I need you, can we talk?” He sent it, and stared expectantly at the small screen, waiting for a response. There was none. 

Five grueling minutes passed before Peter couldn't take it anymore. Sleep be damned, there was no way he could drift off now anyways, not with the gaping hole in his chest. He rolled out of bed and grabbed his mask as quickly as he could manage. He was still tugging on his web shooters when he yanked open his window and stumbled out onto the fire escape, in just a mask and pj's. 

He needed to speak with Wade, needed him to hold him, keep him close. They could wait out the love potion together, and then somehow Peter would force things to go back to normal. He didn't care what trouble he would have to face in the future, the trouble of the potion was now, and it was painful. 

Peter zipped a web and launched himself into the air, gliding over cars and the bustle of the night life. He climbed higher and higher, pushing off the edge of buildings and grappling along walls until he was perched on the ledge of a sky scraper, scanning the city below. He could hear the faint murmur of New York echoing up to him, but it was so much calmer in the tree tops of the concrete jungle. 

Peter could view most of Manhattan, stretched out before him, and he searched for any signs of the mercenary. He looked for explosions, the sparks of gunfire, S.H.I.E.L.D agents lurking in shadows or any signs of suspicious activity. He scanned rooftops for a glimpse of red leather and swung between buildings, listening for the sing song of Wade's voice as he talked to the boxes in his head. 

Sadly, by the time the sun began to rise, and the night lights of the city faded away, Peter was still alone, hugging a flag pole at the top of a lonely roof. Wade had not been at their usual meeting place, and Peter had exhausted himself trying to find him. In one last hopeful effort, he pulled his phone out of his suit and checked for any new messages. All he saw was a reminder that it was nearly time for work, there were no new notifications. 

Peter sobbed, his tears sticking to his cheeks under his mask. He felt like the gaping hole in his heart was slowly expanding, eating the rest of him away. All he felt was the itching need to be close to Wade, and being this far apart, not knowing where the mercenary was, it was torture. He was exhausted, but unable to sleep, he needed Wade. That's all he knew. 

Through his despair, an idea snapped into his head, a gleaming hope that there was a small chance he could find Wade. Just a few days ago Wade had taken him to one of his safe houses to clean up, and if he wasn't out on the streets, there was the possibility that he was there. Perhaps he was hiding out, or maybe planning for the mission he was currently on, it didn't matter. Peter tucked his phone away and leapt off the roof, swinging himself in the direction of Wade's safe house.

His body trembled with anticipation when he neared the familiar building. His tears of pain turned to tears of relief when he saw the mercenaries' living room window cracked open. He gracefully landed on the fire escape and knocked on the glass before sliding it all the way up and climbing inside, not waiting for a response. 

The living room was still dark, the only windows in the apartment facing away from the rising sun. There were no signs of life, from what Peter could tell, and the place looked exactly the same as it did when he had visited. 

“Wade?” He called, tiptoeing over the old stained carpet and peaking down the hall. “It's me, Spider-Man. You here?” Normally Peter would have been concerned with startling the mercenary, or waking him from his sleep, or breaking and entering in general, but he pushed those thoughts from his head, listening to the driving force that pushed him deeper into Wade's apartment. 

“I hope you don't mind...I just...I needed to see you.” He explained himself as he neared the door he remembered Wade coming out of. It was shut this time, and Peter hoped he was in there. When no reply came he tried the nob, finding it unlocked. Peter knew he shouldn't be snooping, but the potion in his system muddled his brain, making him act irrationally off his ever growing emotions. 

Carefully he pushed the door open, revealing a plethora of knives, fire arms, and random weapons he had only seen in fiction. They were stashed around the room on shelves or mounted to the wall. Some were in open crates or lying dangerously in the middle of the floor. One serrated blade was lodged in the dry wall, it's hilt being used as a hook for what looked like a fuzzy robe. In the center of the room was a large bed adorned with a weighted duvet and downy pillows. There was one bedside table that was home to a busted old lamp that Peter was positive didn't work. Sadly, there was no Wade. Still, Peter found himself stepping slowly into the room, and closing the door behind him. 

Wade may not have been there, but Peter couldn't bring himself to leave. Out of all the buildings in New York, and out of all the rooms, this was the one place where he felt remotely at ease, despite the collection of weapons around him. He stalked closer to the bed and took a seat on it, studying the room again from this new angle. 

His heart fluttered in his chest when he spied the Spider-Man poster taped to the back of Wade's door, staring directly at the bed, web shooter aimed. A fuzzy warm sensation snuck through his veins as he began to notice small pictures of Spider-Man cut out from magazines and newspapers tacked in random places around the room. There was even one on the ceiling just above the headboard. 

Peter let himself sink down onto the mattress, feeling the soft sheets against his cold toes. He pulled off his gloves and set them on the table as a yawn forced out of him. He rolled up his mask to his nose and just breathed as he laid his head on Wade's pillow. The scent of the mercenary overtook his senses and he buried his face in the pillow, unable to get enough of it. A calmness seemed to wash over him, pushing the pain and emptiness he was feeling away. Wade may not have been there, but being in his room, with his weapons, in his bed and surrounded by all his things made Peter feel like he belonged. 

He sighed deeply, letting his eyes shut as he snuggled deeper into the covers. He slipped into slumber as he thought to himself that he could be Wade's too, if the mercenary wanted. His heart swelled and he was momentarily satisfied, until a loud crash echoed through the apartment and Peter was startled awake, clutching onto Wade's covers for dear life. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the super long wait guys. Had a lot going on and these chapters are much longer than what I was writing before. Anyways, I hope you enjoy, because things are about to get sticky in Peter's life. (not like they already aren't). 
> 
> Also, I would like to say that I've read everyones lovely comments but haven't had the time to respond to them. I'll try my best to respond to everybody's but sometimes I forget. But just know that I appreciate all of your comments and want to thank you so much for all the kudos :)


	3. Try to Keep it Hidden (Honey We Can See Right Through You)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter struggles with the last thing keeping him from falling completely victim to the love potion; his secret identity. And Wade tries not to get hopeful about Spidey's fake feelings towards him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING!! PLEASE READ
> 
> I'm sure you readers have noticed but the rating has changed with this chapter, and some additional tags have been added. There is a rape warning about half way through the chapter (right after he leaves the corner store for those of you wanting to skip it). I know this is a spoiler but I'll just go ahead and say that things do not go all the way and it's more of an "almost rape" or a close call situation. Either way, I wanted to include a warning for those of you who might be sensitive to this specific topic. 
> 
> Also, what is wrong with me? This fic was supposed to be a happier more fun story with light angst. I'm unable to control myself. But I do promise it get's more light hearted as the story progresses.

Peter stared wide eyed at the poster of himself, taped to the back of Wade's bedroom door. He strained his ears to listen for the slightest sound. His heart hammered in his chest to the point it almost hurt. Had he really heard a loud crash? Or had his brain been playing tricks on him and it had all been a dream? He wasn't sure, until a muffled groan slipped through the thin drywall. He scrambled out of the bed, pulling on his gloves and web shooters from the bedside table.

In all his years being Spider-Man, this had never happened to him before. Nobody had ever broken into his home while he was peacefully sleeping in the other room, this was a first. It didn't help that he had to tiptoe around multiple guns and weapons scattered across Wade's floor. It was a glaring reminder that there was the possibility that whoever was breaking into the apartment, was hired to hunt Deadpool down. It could have been another hitman, an unsatisfied customer, a crazed super villain or maybe even a S.H.I.E.L.D agent. Peter had no clue, but he couldn't wait in Wade's bed, cowering under his covers.

Carefully he pressed his masked ear against the door, listening. There was a slow shuffle coming from the living room, like something was being dragged across the hardwood floors and through broken glass. He could hear heavy breathing, panting and grunts as if someone was pained or exerting too much energy. Whoever it was, Peter had to face them. He couldn't let them set traps in Wade's safe house, or whatever other sinister plan they may have.

He sucked in a deep breath and bravely cracked the door open, receiving no warnings from his spidey sense. So far so good. From his angle all he could see was the edge of the sofa and a portion of the TV. By now the sun had risen enough to cast a bit of light into the living room and it reflected off hundreds of glass shards, sprinkled all over the floor. Peter gritted his teeth, cursing at himself for leaving his own apartment without the rest of his suit. Quickly he scanned Wade's room for anything to cover his feet. Luckily he found a pair of blue Crocs, much too big for him, but they would have to do. He slipped them on before venturing into the hall.

With his web shooters aimed and ready, Peter cautiously creeped down the corridor. He was prepared to web up the first thing that moved, his heart racing. The huffs of labored breath grew louder until finally he was at the corner. Peter closed his eyes and mentally counted to three before darting around the corner and yelling,

“Hand's up!” He fired a single web at a figure slumped on the floor. He hardly had time to register what was happening before his spider sense buzzed at the base of his skull and he sent himself into a summersault, dodging a bullet that whizzed past his head. It lodged in the dry wall behind him. Peter zipped himself back around, ready to web up the fire arm when his brain finally caught up with the rest of the world.

“S-s-spidey?” The figure on the ground croaked, just as Peter recognized the red and black of Deadpool's outfit.

“Wade!” He gasped, short of breath from the adrenaline pumping through his veins. “Oh god, it's just you.” He huffed, holding his head as if this was his own apartment that Wade had just crashed through the window of.

{Spidey is here! At our place!} Yellow sang in Wade's mind.

“What...are you...” Wade started but didn't get to finish as Spidey looked at him and immediately began to freak out.

“Oh my god Wade!” He exclaimed, noticing the puddles of blood that pooled under the mercenary. The man's right arm was dangling by a string of flesh, bullet holes riddled his torso and he appeared more like a block of Swiss cheese than an actual person. A splintered rib protruded from his chest and not to mention, he was covered in glass.

Peter rushed to his side, glass crunching under his feet.

“What happened to you? What can I do to help?” His hands hovered over Wade's wounded body, not sure what to do. Everything looked incredibly painful, much worse than when he had seen him on the subway. His heart throbbed and ached for the mercenary. Just because Wade had an incredible healing factor, didn't make his injuries any less severe. He was still bleeding and possibly dying, and sure he would come back, but it would hurt like hell until then. Peter felt his eyes watering as he watched Wade slowly lift a trembling hand. He breathed heavy before forcing words out.

“Y...you're wearing my “alone time” Crocs.” he coughed, blood oozing from the bullet holes as he breathed. Peter stared at him blankly, stunned by the utter randomness of the statement.

“What does that have to do with...” He didn't get to finish as Wade interrupted him,

“Are you in boxers right now?” His voice rose an octave.

{ _HE IS IN HIS BOXERS! IN OUR APARTMENT!_ } Yellow shrieked happily.

[Are we trippin?]

“I almost shot you!” Wade suddenly realized, voicing all his thoughts aloud. “You're in my house! Why are you in my house? I'm so glad you're here baby boy.” He finally paused, allowing himself a moment to catch his breath.

“I'm glad I'm here too, just look at you Wade.” Peter's voice trembled as he carefully plucked razor sharp bits of glass out of the mercenaries' flesh. “I haven't seen you this bad since...since...” He honestly couldn't think of a time, he always tried so hard to forget the moments where Wade wound up looking like a butchered slab of meat. It upset him to no end.

Wade was quiet for a moment, still stunned and somewhat confused as to Spidey's presence. But it was the way the hero clenched his fists with frustration and stumbled on his words that had the mercenary going quiet. Spidey was clearly upset.

“W-who...who did this to you?” He hissed, feeling a wave of anger bubbling in him.

“Hit-Monky.” Wade answered, wincing as he tried to push himself up into a sitting position. Spidey was quick to lean over him, scooping his arms carefully under Wade's back and gently hoisting him upwards.

“Let's get you onto the couch and out of this glass.” Spidey gave a sympathetically pained sigh as he helped Wade over to the beat up sofa. “Tell me more about this Hit-Monkey.” He urged Wade to continue.

“Well...uhm. He used to be a S.H.I.E.L.D agent,” Wade began, watching as Spider-Man stepped into the small kitchen and retrieved him a glass of water. “But then apparently he suddenly went bananas. Started attacking his fellow agents, acting like a real animal.” He snickered at his own jokes but quickly found that laughing didn't sit well with the rib protruding from his chest.

“Did Fury give you this job?” Spidey handed him the glass of water before sitting on the edge of the couch and continuing to pick glass out of his skin.

“Yeah, he wanted me to subdue him by whatever means possible. He told me if I had to kill him then I should...” Wade paused, setting the cup down before turning back to the hero. “But I'm not trying to do that, otherwise I would have obviously succeeded by now. I'm doing things your way, no killing involved.” Wade assured him, hoping that would earn a thumbs up or some form of praise from the hero. Instead he got a blank stare and a sigh as Spidey turned to look at the blue crocs on his own feet.

“He really tore you up.” He noted, his voice shaking. Wade wanted to ask what had him so upset but Spidey abruptly stood and changed the subject.

“Let's clean you up, your healing factor will probably work faster if you're resting.” He walked back to the kitchen and rummaged around in Wade's drawers for a bit before returning with a pair of scissors, duct tape and several damp rags. He set them down on the table by the sofa and went back to the kitchen to fetch a broom and the lid of a pizza box to use as a dust pan.

The hero made quick work, sweeping the glass off the hardwood floors and then quickly turning to tend to the mercenary.

“Do you...care if I...?” He held up the scissors and pointed to the bits of Wade's suit that was wrapped around his dangling arm.

“Oh sure...go ahead.” Wade nodded, falling silent as Spidey scooted closer and, gently as possible, began to clip the sleeve off. Wade tried to find a place on the wall to stare at, tried to distract his mind or chat with the boxes in his head. He hated setting his limbs back in place, sure they re-attached faster than they grew back, but it hurt like a son of a bitch. But Spidey was careful, his hands moving gracefully around his injuries, his touch like that of a butterflies', barely there. Of course, when it was time to move his arm back up to its rightful place, Wade had to bite his lip and hold in a yelp. It wasn't until Spidey had duct taped the hell out of it that he was able to exhale the breath he had been holding. Already he could feel the skin beginning to stitch itself back together.

Wade couldn't help but feel a bit flustered when Spidey began tenderly dabbing the dried blood from his arm. They were friends, that much was certain, and Wade had always jumped at the opportunity to help the hero, and he knew Spidey would do the same for him. Yet, right now, this felt like something more. The hero was taking it a step further, he didn't need to clean him up, didn't need to wash the caked blood away, but he was doing it anyways. There had been a time in their past where Spidey would merely offer him a helping hand, pulling him to his feet if he fell out a window or injured himself. But here Spidey was being so careful not to inflict further pain and he was insistent on making Wade feel as comfortable as he possibly could.

“Can I?” He heard Spidey talk and Wade snapped out of his trance like thoughts, only now realizing the hero's hands were hovering near the seam of his mask. Wade was still for a moment before giving a soft nod, feeling timid fingers sneak under the mask and brush his scarred skin. Carefully, the Deadpool mask was peeled off and he was left with nothing to hide his scars. He was at ease enough around Spidey already to take his mask off, but that didn't make it any less terrifying every time he did it. There was always that “What if?” in the back of his head, “What if Spidey was just being nice.” “What if one day he can't fake being nice anymore?”

“I miss your eyes.” Spidey stated bluntly, staring into Wade's light blue irises. There was a short moment between them where neither of them said a thing, and just stared at each other. Peter, marveling in the baby blue pools of Wade's eyes, and Wade, staring into the emotionless white voids of the Spider-Man mask, wondering what the eyes of the man he loved so much really looked like.

Of course, like all moments before it, that moment too had to end. Spidey was the first to look away, becoming aware of himself and his emotions that swirled and swelled from the unspoken thing between them. He turned back to his task, mending Wade and forcing him to bed.

“What should I do about your rib?” He asked, “Do you have a usual protocol?” He tried not to look at the white, blood stained bone that poked up towards the ceiling.

“Ah...usually I just break it off so the wound can close up.” Wade grunted, reaching with his good arm to grab hold of the rib.

“Wade, no! That's going to hurt don't...” Spidey stammered, standing to his feet and reaching to grab hold of the mercenary's arm.

“It's ok.” Wade assured him, gripping the bone and beginning to pull.

“ _NO NO NO, WADE STOP!_ ” Peter shrieked at the sound of bone snapping. Wade gave a sharp yell as the rib cracked and broke off in his hand, leaving the wound in his chest oozing with blood. Spidey didn't get the chance to stand there stunned. He quickly grabbed the scissors and began to cut away at the front of Wade's suit, ripping it open so he could gain access to the puncture. Like before, he quickly cleaned the spot and taped it over. Usually he would argue that duct tape was not the best way to mend a laceration, but this was Deadpool, and this was the way he did things.

“Don't you ever...do that...again in front of me.” Peter panted, his stomach feeling a bit weak.

“Ok.” Wade groaned, letting his head flop back against the arm of the sofa. “Next time I'll let you do it.” He teased.

“N-no way.” Peter trembled as he carefully removed the rest of the cut pieces of Wade's suit, leaving him in his pants and boots. He washed the blood and grime from his torso, just as gently as he had with Wade's arm, making sure he was clean.

“Think you can walk? A nap would probably do you some good, you should also change into something cleaner.” Spidey noted, offering Wade a hand as he pushed himself off the couch. The two walked together down the hall, Peter going behind him to make sure he didn't fall or bring further injuries to himself.

“I'll be right out here if you need anything.” He said, closing Wade's bedroom door to allow him some privacy. “Are you...in much pain?” He asked, leaning against the wall, listening as Wade shuffled around the bedroom and opened drawers.

“It's nothing I can't handle.” Wade assured him, slowly managing to slip out of his clothes and into a pair of sweat pants.

“That's not what I asked. Just because you can handle pain doesn't mean it feels good.” Peter huffed from the other side of the wall, a hint of irritation in his voice. And he _was_ a bit on the irritated side, having been rudely torn from his sleep, with his heart pounding out of his chest, only to find the person he had been endlessly pining over laying in a bloody mess on the floor. He was a bit upset he hadn't been able to sleep longer, but he was most furious that Hit-Monkey had done that to Wade. The mercenary didn't deserve to suffer through so much pain, just because he could heal from it.

“Well, if you put it that way, yeah...it...feels like shit.” Wade new it was best to answer honestly with the wall crawler, Spidey always pulled the truth out of him one way or another. He was about to tell Spidey not to fret his pretty little head over it, as he attempted to pull on a loose shirt, but ended up growling in pain instead. His still healing arm was jostled when he attempted to loop it into the clothing.

“Are you ok!? I can help you!” He heard the hero exclaim, worry lacing his voice. Wade wanted to say no. He really didn't want to inconvenience Spidey more than he already had, and maybe he should just sleep without a shirt, but the door creaked open before he could decline.

“I-I'm sorry Wade but please, just let me help you.” Spidey poked his head through the crack in the door. Wade couldn't help but smile.

“Ok fine, nurse Spidey. Get over here and help me with this stupid shirt already.” Wade laughed, feeling affection warm his heart as the hero hurried into the bedroom to aid him. In no time he was painlessly dressed and moved over to the bed. He took a seat on the mattress' edge, hand sliding over the sheets. It was warm.

Wade paused for a moment, staring at his pillow and the dip in it where someone had rested their head.

{He was sleeping in our bed!} Yellow exclaimed.

[He could have been doing other things in our bed.] White suggested, a sly tone in his voice.

{No fucking way! You don't think he actually rubbed one out, tangled in our sheets, do you!? Why didn't we put up cameras in here!?} Yellow was losing his marbles.

“Cas that would just be weird.” Wade thought before shaking his head and turning to look back at Spidey, who was now slowly stepping backwards to the door.

“Well, I uh...I guess I'll let you sleep then. I can wait in the living room if you want. Or uh...just leave.” He stepped out of Wade's Crocs, trying not to make eye contact. He felt awkward, almost like he had been caught red handed. He shouldn't have come, no matter how badly he needed Wade.

“Spidey,” Wade called, stilling the hero in his tracks. “why were you here?” He asked, a tone of seriousness deepening his voice. Peter trembled. He wanted to run. It had never crossed his potion muddled mind that maybe the mercenary would be mad at him for breaking in and inviting himself into his bed. He wasn't Snow White, welcomed by happy dwarves, he was a regular ol Goldilocks, and the bear had finally come home. Peter took a deep breath and finally turned around, it was time he talked to Wade.

“I...came over because I wanted to see you.” He began, “I tried texting, but you didn't answer. I was trying so hard to avoid you, because every second I was around you the love potion just made it so difficult for me to fight these emotions. I didn't want to start another relationship, I didn't want to get close. I tried so hard to find a cure to this, but every second...every moment away from you...” Peter could feel his voice growing weak, it was painful talking about what he had been going through for the past few days. What if Wade couldn't understand? What if he pushed him away?

The tears began to fall as he continued,

“It hurts...I-I can't sleep, I can't focus on work or-or anything for that matter. I couldn't fight it anymore, it was too exhausting. So I...I just had to see you. And just being here,” he gestured to Wade's room and pointed out to the rest of the apartment. “Put me at ease enough that it was bearable. I think...I'll be ok now. I can go, you should rest.” He slipped his hand under his mask, wiping the tears from his cheeks.

{He needs us!} Yellow sobbed, and Wade was quick to react.

“Oh, baby boy,” He called out sympathetically. He patted the pillow beside him when Spidey turned back around to face him. “It's ok. I'm so sorry I didn't get your text, Hit-Monkey busted my phone the other day. Whatever you need until that potion wears off, I'll give it to you, just ask. You don't have to do this alone.” He assured him, holding one arm out, motioning for the hero to come closer.

Peter wanted to rush into his arms and sob out a grateful thanks as he buried his face in the crook of the mercenary's neck. But he restrained himself and instead timidly stepped a bit closer.

“I don't...want to inconvenience you. I can handle it now, I promise. Maybe if we patrol later it wont be so bad for me.” He sighed, trying to reign in the ache in his heart.  
“Nuhuh, baby boy, you could never be a burden to me. Come here. You helped me, we're friends. If you need me near you so you can get some sleep, then you better get that bubble butt of yours into this bed!” He instructed, pointing to the open space beside him.

This time Peter didn't hesitate, the few hours of shut eye he had gotten had hardly given him enough time to rejuvenate. His exhausted body could finally relax as he slipped under the covers again, back facing the mercenary, making sure he wasn't too close.

“Thank you Wade.” He sighed, pulling off his gloves and web shooters. “Don't worry, it's just temporary.” He assured him, but he knew all too well that Wade would have loved if it was permanent.

“Whatever you need sweet cheeks.” Wade hummed, sliding down into the sheets and resting his head on the warm pillow. His whole heart felt like it was swelling with joy, anymore and it would surely explode. The boxes, especially Yellow, were chittering non stop in his head. Wade had to close his eyes just to keep himself from staring at the silent figure of Spidey, resting beside him, just an arm's length away.

[It's all the love potion. None of the emotions he's feeling are real.] White insisted, making sure that both Wade and Yellow weren't getting their hopes up.

{Yeah but he chose to come over here. He said so!} Yellow argued.

[He said he was in physical pain whenever he was away from us, of course he would finally cave and come over.] White rebutted.

“Doesn't matter, whatever Spidey needs, I'll give it to him.”

{Ooooh, what if he needs us ten inches inside of him!?} Yellow exclaimed.

[That might be a bit far fetched.] White huffed.

“Anything he needs that he won't regret once the potion wears off.” Wade corrected them, “I don't want him hating me once he's back to normal. Not to mention, being forced into emotions by a love potion does not count as consent.” Wade added.

{But....but...}

“No buts!” Wade thought loudly.

{Not even Spidey's perfect butt!?}

[Shut up about it already.] White growled viciously, and Wade was happy their conversation had come to an end. Now if he could only get his heart to calm, then maybe he could get some sleep.

Peter wasn't fairing any better, all kinds of thoughts raced through his mind. His heart was doing summersaults, and tingles of excitement shot through his veins. The pain had subsided for now, knowing Wade was just behind him. But how could he possibly sleep now? All he could think about was rolling over, scooting closer and snuggling up close to the mercenary. He would drift asleep, lulled by the sound of Wade's heart and his steady breathes. His warmth would engulf around Peter like a heated blanket and he knew he would never be able to sleep alone again.

As tempting as it was, Peter didn't know what the mercenary would say. Sure, Wade had said, “whatever you need”, but that didn't mean he had meant it. So, Peter waited until the sound of Wade's breathes were long and far between. He turned his head slightly, watching Wade carefully over his shoulder. His eyes were closed and his left arm was resting up towards the pillows.

Seeing the perfect opportunity, Peter slowly rolled over, not wanting to wake him, and scooted carefully closer. Wade didn't move as Peter tucked himself under his strong, toned arm and pressed himself close to Wade's side. He shyly snaked his arm over Wade's stomach, gently hugging him close and anchoring himself in place. His cheek rested on Wade's pec, and the sound of his thrumming heart echoed in his ear. Wade was warm, like he imagined, and the smell of gun powder, sweat...and just Wade, relaxed Peter. This felt right and Peter hummed in satisfaction, finally closing his eyes just before Wade's lips spread into a small smile.

 

* * *

 

{Riiiiiise and shiiiiiiine.} Yellow sing-songed in the folds of Wade's mind, interrupting his sleep. {I mean honestly,} he continued, {how can you sleep another second when we could be awake watching Spidey?} This motivated Wade to abandon his stubborn hold on his dream and slowly open his tired eyes. A bright rhea of light peaked through the blinds and caught his gaze, making him recoil back into the sheets and grumble in irritation.

[Can't give anybody a moments rest can you?] White sighed and Wade hummed in agreement. But the promise of a morning snuggled next to Spidey made Wade smile and he finally rolled over, reaching his arm out to grab the hero. His arm landed on a cold pillow, tucked in the covers beside him. Confused, Wade pushed himself up, staring with disappointment at the empty sheets beside him. Spidey was gone.

Wade's mood immediately dampened as he forced himself out of bed.

“Not worth waking up for. Not even a love potion could make him stay.” He grumbled, hoping the boxes felt just as crappy about it as he did. He sulked over to his dresser where his new phone was. A small glimmer of hope brightening his morning when he spied a small note covering his cell.

“Good morning. Gone to work. Patrol tonight at 8:30? Txt me.” It read, with Spidey's number scribbled underneath. 

{I knew he wouldn't abandon us!} Yellow exclaimed

[You know if he was in his right mind he...] White started,

“Shut up! Don't ruin my morning!” Wade yelled as he grabbed his phone and began to type a quick text to his favorite hero.

“Morning Jitterbug.” He signed his name and tacked on a few heart emojis before tucking his phone into his pocket. He had hardly gotten out of his bedroom when it buzzed, notifying him.

“lol wut?” Spidey responded.

{Aw, he was waiting for us to text him!} Yellow cooed.

[Are you kidding? He's a millennial, his phone is practically a part of him.] White grumped. Wade made a loud shushing sound as he tried to block out their obnoxious constant chattering.

“Yup, my little Jitterbug. Next time wake me up before you go go.”

“...” Across New York, sitting in the Empire State University Library, Peter snorted loudly as he read over Wade's text. He couldn't help the stupid blush that tinted his cheeks. Of course Wade was making “WHAM” references. He really shouldn't have been texting while attempting to read through a student's paper, but here he was.

“Omg,” he responded, “U r such a dork. Sry for not waking u tho. I had wrk.” He leaned back in his seat, abandoning the paper as he watched his phone, waiting for Wade's response. He wasn't waiting long before another gray bubble popped up in the chat.

“It's ok sweet cheeks. I got work to do today as well, but I'm game to patrol later <3.” Peter couldn't help but frown at the text, he knew what work Wade was talking about. It was that damned mission from S.H.I.E.L.D. Images of Wade bloody and bruised on the subway flashed into his mind. He remembered how hurt the mercenary had been when he crashed through his own apartment window last night. The thought of Wade going out just to get mauled, sliced or shot to death made his blood run cold.

“Plz be careful :'( “

“Aaaaaw, you care about me.” Wade teased.

“Of course I do...” Peter typed before chickening out and deleting it. He didn't want to come across as too love struck. He bit his bottom lip, thinking way too hard about what he should say next. Luckily for him, Wade beat him to it and changed the subject.

“Btw. If you still can't sleep, feel free to come over any night or anytime. Mi casa es tu casa.” Peter felt that all too familiar flutter in his chest as he read over Wade's open invitation. He was already falling head over heels because of the love potion, but the mercenary just made it so much easier. A welcomed warmth spread from Peter's chest and traveled through his veins and out to the tips of his fingers and toes. He had completely given in at this point, and there was absolutely no fight left in him.

“Thanks Wade.” He texted back. “Gtg, lots of wrk to do.” He added before muting his phone and putting it away in his backpack. He would have talked with the mercenary all day if he didn't force himself to work. At the moment, Wade was the only thing he cared about, and every moment he spent away from him was grueling.

He had arrived to the school an hour later than usual. When he awoke that morning, Wade's arm was snaked around him, holding him close. It was the absolute best feeling in the world and he had immediately closed his eyes and hidden his face in the larger man's shirt, breathing in the scent of him. Peter was slowly realizing that the thought of returning to his own bed, alone, made him feel lonely and cold. He could never sleep in his bed again, not after last night. But Peter knew, once the love potion wore off, that he wouldn't have these strong overpowering emotions, he wouldn't have an excuse to tuck himself close to Wade...and the thought terrified him.

All he wanted was more and more of the mercenary, and knowing that eventually he wouldn't want any of him made Peter want to break down into tears. He was in deep now, and he couldn't see this ordeal ending without some form of emotional pain on his own part. If he pushed Wade away now it would break his own heart, and knowing that eventually he would want to, was giving him a mild anxiety attack. What had he gotten himself into?

Before he had the chance to fall in a full blown panic attack, Peter attempted to curve his train of thought and distract his mind. He quickly returned to the student's paper lying on the table in front of him, and finished writing a list of notes that would hopefully aid the student in their re-write. After that was done he turned to his backpack and retrieved his laptop, spending the next several hours searching the wide web for vacant apartment listings in his area. His lease was up for a renewal and he had decided not to sign. Of course, his landlord knew this already and his window of opportunity on finding a new place was beginning to close. He needed to act fast. He couldn't stay in that small, square, sorry excuse of an apartment any longer, it was way too cramped for his liking.

“Like sleeping in a closet.” He muttered under his breath, cursing silently at the outrageous rent some of the landlords were asking for their places. The frustrations of his search blocked out all thoughts and heartaches that came along whenever he thought about Wade, and soon the whole day had passed him by. 8:30 was slowly creeping closer. He had just enough time left in the day to pick up some much needed groceries and have a small meal before suiting up and swinging out to meet the mercenary.

Even though the love potion had been persistent, Peter's empty stomach clouded his thoughts as he hurried to the closest corner store in search for a few items for dinner. He wanted to be in and out in a flash, but his typical "Parker bad luck" seemed to be on a roll that day. The usually empty corner store had a line at the register and by the time it was Peter's turn, it was ten minutes to 8:30.

After getting through the line he hardly had enough time to race home and put his groceries away. Usually he wouldn't make such a big fuss about being on time to his meet ups with Wade, he had kept the mercenary waiting for almost an hour before. But he had been waiting all day to get close to Wade's side again. Leaving him that morning had already been hard enough.

 

So, against his better judgement, Peter decided to take a short cut home through the back alleys. His backpack weighed down his shoulders, crammed full with student's papers and his laptop. On both his arms dangled brown plastic grocery bags, filled with a weekend's worth of food. His stomach was empty and his mind was on the mercenary. The small tingle that started at the base of his neck and worked its way across his nerves went ignored as he hurried through the dark shadows of the alley way. And it was just his Parker luck when one of the plastic bags suddenly ripped open, spilling canned soup and spam onto the pavement.

“Damn it.” Peter hissed, setting the other bags down. He pulled out his phone, spying the time. It was 8:23, he needed to hurry. He turned on his flashlight to find the cans that had spilled out into the darkness. Quickly he grabbed them up as they started to roll in different directions. He gathered them in his arms and stooped to retrieve the last one when he heard the sound of shoes hitting the ground behind him. He spun around, startled, dropping his phone from the quick motion. The light from his cell illuminated a broad shouldered man who was approaching his abandoned bags of groceries. He was wearing a heavy black jacket that looked one size too big.

“Brought me dinner I see.” The man chuckled as he began to poke through the bags. Peter mentally slapped himself. This particular location was often times the first stop on him and Wade's patrols, being so close to their meet up spot. He knew all too well this alley was a magnet for muggings and robberies, he had stopped dozens of them as Spider-Man. Yet here he was, finding himself on the business end of one.

“Leave my stuff alone.” He barked bravely, holding up a can of soup, ready to throw it. The man snorted, amused at his lame attempt at a threat. He pushed his jacket back, revealing a small fire arm strapped to his belt. Peter gulped.

“Dinner and dessert, he's cute enough to eat, Rick.” Another man chimed in. Peter turned his attention to the fire escape hanging from the neighboring building. His spider sense shot a loud warning down his spine as another man hopped down off the fire escape where he had been hiding. A second tingle zapped through Peter's nerves as the other man whipped a gun out of his pants and aimed it straight towards him, slowly drawing closer.

Peter's first instinct was to web the end of the gun and yank it from his attacker's hands, but he wasn't wearing web shooters and his suit was at home. His second idea was to use his super strength and lightning reflexes to overpower them, but that would mean giving away his identity. Not to mention, both men were armed and he could very easily get himself shot while apprehending the other. He couldn't kill these guys and they were bound to remember what he looked like, he wasn't willing to risk anything. Peter slowly lowered the can in his hands, taking on an heir of fear as he backed himself against the wall.

“P-please,” he tried to stammer, attempting to lace his voice with worry. “You can have the bags, just please let me go.” If things went according to plan they would take the bait, leave with the bags and let him be. Then he could dart home, change into his suit, and hunt them and his groceries down. Unfortunately, the second man seemed less interested in the canned food, and more interested in Peter himself.

“What makes you think I'd let you slip away? If you want to leave here alive, you're going to have to offer me something better than canned crap.” He growled, a horrifying smile creeping over his face as he stalked ever closer.

Peter's mind began to race, realizing the perverse intent of the armed man. He tried to calculate the quickest rout out of the alley, but the loaded gun aimed at his head was keeping him pinned in place.

“On your knees.” The man ordered, so close now that Peter could smell the stench of alcohol on his breath.

“Really, Garry?” The other man huffed, picking up the bags and rolling his eyes dramatically. “Whatever just...be quick about it.” He added before turning around and beginning to walk deeper down the alley.

“What?” The man named Gary snickered as he took a glance down at his wrist watch. “I've got enough time for a bit of fun.” He commented before turning back to Peter.

Roughly he gripped the hero's acorn curls, fingers uncomfortably pulled at Peter's hair as he was shoved downwards. Not using his super strength to resist, Peter's knees hit the pavement. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. If it wasn't for the fear of them figuring out his secret identity, he would have used his powers to fight the men off. The idea of being outed was enough to keep him acting like an every day man. Of course, he always had the option to fight back without using powers, but the gun pressed to his temple had ruined that plan as well. So there he was, staring at the zipper of a stranger's jeans, contemplating how in the hell he was going to get out of that situation. It had all happened so quickly, yet every second was passing agonizingly slow. Peter just wanted it to be over, wanted to be safe in his stupid tiny square apartment with his groceries. Wanted to suit up and be shoulder to shoulder with Wade.

As the man instructed him to remove his belt, Peter thought to himself how he should have stayed in bed that morning, curled up next to the mercenary, safe and without a rapist's fingers tugging at his hair or a gun pointed at his head. His hands began to shake as he reached up for the man's belt buckle. Was his identity really worth it? Surely not.

“Get on with it. And don't even think about biting.” Gary growled, pushing the tip of his gun roughly against Peter's head. Peter could feel his pulse pounding in his own ears, his mouth felt dry and he was half expecting to wake up from this horrible nightmare. His fingers managed to grip the man's buckle and he fumbled to get it undone. He should run, he should fight, he should shove the man through the brick wall with every ounce of his super strength.

Peter paused when he had gotten the buckle undone, he couldn't bring himself to go any further. His skin was crawling and the grimy fingers pulling his hair were painful and unwelcome. All of it was.

“What are you waiting for?” The man hissed, frowning as Peter's hands fell to his side, leaving the man's pants resting on his hips. “You got a death wish?” He lifted his arm and smashed the butt of his gun against Peter's brow, busting a nasty red gash in his skin. Peter recoiled, hissing in pain but was yanked closer as the man pulled at his hair. His spider sense was going hay wire and a bubble of fear formed in his stomach as he battled with what he should do next.

“You little shit. I'll just fuck you unconscious.” Gary decided aloud, ready to knock Peter out cold. He raised the gun again and Peter couldn't help but stare wide eyed in panic. As Gary swung his arm down to collide with Peter's head again, the hero caught a glimpse of his wrist watch.

“8:30.” _smack._ The cold metal dug into the already bleeding wound on his head. This time he stumbled back and Gary finally let him go. The man was seething with anger as he readied himself to strike again. Peter raised his hands to block the blow and shouted loudly, his voice echoing into the night air.

“Help!” He screamed frantically. Gary paused for a split second, startled by the hero's sudden out cry.

“Hey! Shut him up!” The man with the groceries spun back around to face them. Gary quickly attempted to silence Peter as he called for help again, hoping to alert someone close by. He may have not been able to save himself, but Spider-Man wasn't the only hero that patrolled that side of town.

“Help! Somebody help!” He cried again just as Gary's shoe collided with his rib cage and knocked the wind out of him. Peter gasped for air as he slid down to lie on the ground. He curled his legs close and tried his best to protect his head with his arms. One of the most frustrating parts of his life, was being in a situation where his super abilities could save his bacon but he couldn't use them for the sake of his own identity. It was the dumbest thing, being unable to save himself in order to save himself. Instead he was forced to put all his hope in Deadpool and rely on him to be just a few roofs away at their scheduled meeting place.

He managed to shout one more time before both Gary and his accomplice were standing over him and attempting to mercilessly kick him into submission. Peter just gritted his teeth and kept his eyes clenched closed. Slowly he began to count the seconds that passed in his head. He got to 37 when the tingling of his spider sense abruptly stopped and the sound of something hard hitting the ground echoed through the alley. The aching kicks subsided and a loud cry of pain reverberated against the brick walls.

“SHIT!” One of the muggers yelled, causing Peter to peek one eye open. He looked up through his fingers hopefully, his heart pounding. Gary had dropped his gun and was cradling one of his hands. A throwing knife was skewered through his palm and blood dripped down his sleeve and onto the concrete. The other man had drawn his own fire arm, and was looking up and down the alley frantically.

“Peek-A-boo!” Someone sing-songed. The men hardly had time to trace the source of the voice when a blurred figure of black and red came falling down from the roof, landing on the second attacker with a loud thud. Peter winced, hearing several loud cracks, no doubt bones being snapped. Suddenly, there was Deadpool in the mix of things. He leapt off the man as if nothing happened, stepping over him as he lay crumpled on the ground, groaning in agony.

A wave of relief washed over Peter as Wade got to work with the two men. His heart swelled while he watched the mercenary rescue him. He took them out with total ease, clearly a true professional. For once, Peter was able to spectate Wade completely. He could feel a strong rush of attraction stirring in him again. It mixed with adrenaline from the attack, the love potion, and pure relief, making Peter want nothing more than to throw himself onto the mercenary.

“Don't you guys know the party isn't supposed to start until Spidey is here? How rude of you, now he's missing out.” Wade blabbered on as he used the hilt of his katana to knock Gary clean out. Finally, once he was positive both men were down for good, he turned to Peter and the poor hero's heart melted and mixed with the goo of emotions in him. His face felt hot, his nerves tingled and ironically the idea of giving a blow job to a certain mercenary in the back alley seemed appealing. His eyes ran down Wade's figure, taking in the sight of his muscles stretching the leather of his suit. His gaze lingered on the all too familiar belt buckle, it taunted him and he wanted nothing more than to reach out and grab it, yanking it apart.

“Wait...what the fuck...?” Peter stopped his train of thought, becoming self aware of his own daydreams. A heavy blush darkened his cheeks as he had a silent freak out. Was that the first ever sexual thought he had conjured up about the mercenary? Had he really just fantasized about rewarding the mercenary with a blow job as a thanks for rescuing him? Literally seconds ago he was trying his hardest to prevent himself from being raped in the alley. He needed a moment to calm down, to collect his thoughts and process over what had just happened. He shouldn't be muddling his mind with images of Wade leaning over him, panting, arm against the wall for support. He would have his fingers gently laced through Peter's hair, clenching them whenever a shiver of pleasure shot through him.

“Oh god...” Peter muttered, avoiding eye contact with Wade as he stepped closer. He was a hopeless mess.

“You alright?” The mercenary asked, holding out his hand to pull Peter off the ground.

“Yes, I'm fine thank you.” Peter managed to blurt out as he pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the hand offered to him. He had to keep his distance, couldn't interact. Uselessly he tried to stop the rush of warmth that shot to the bottom of his stomach and continued south. “You came just in time.” he continued, “I uh, I can't thank you enough. Is there uh...anyway I can repay you? L-let me buy you a taco or something.” He exclaimed.

“No.” Peter mentally cursed himself. “You need to distance yourself and calm down before you try to jump his bones in the back alley.” The words had just spilled out of him, uncontrollable. Luckily for him, Wade didn't seem interested.

“Sorry, I'm waiting for Spidey, can't wander off before he gets here.” Wade's smile showed through the mask and Peter felt his heart leap when his hero name rolled off the mercenary's tongue. He was half tempted to reveal his identity right then and there and just kiss him. God, he wanted to at least reach out and touch him, it was eating away at him and he had to fight himself to stay several feet away. Besides, he couldn't tell Wade who he really was, once he did, that was it. All secrets would be out and he wouldn't be able to fight the emotions anymore. He wouldn't be able to hide behind the mask anymore and that was his last defense against the love potion and the grip it had on him. Wade couldn't know who he was.

The mercenary quickly began to gather the cans that were scattered over the ground, stuffing them into the forgotten bags.

“Is this yours too?” He asked, grabbing Peter's cell phone off the concrete, the flashlight still on. As he turned to pass it over the bright light shone on Peter's face, and Wade stopped.

{Hey! We know him!} Yellow screamed.

[What? No we don't. We don't know him from Adam.] White disagreed.

“He does seem...familiar.” Wade admitted. What was it though? He couldn't put his finger on it. The stranger reached out carefully, taking his phone from Wade's outstretched hand before turning off the flashlight.

“Do I...know you?” Wade broke the silence and if the light had still been illuminating Peter's face he would have watched the color drain from his cheeks as his eyes shot wide.

“What? No!” He panicked, all feelings of arousal were immediately vanquished and replaced with panic. Sirens blared off in Peter's mind and his brain began to shut down as he tried to think of any sort of excuse. Wade couldn't know, Wade mustn't know!

“Yeah...I know you from somewhere. You seem familiar. Come on help me out here.” Wade laughed, handing the bags of groceries into Peter's shaking arms.

“Look I swear you don't know me. I have never associated with superheroes.” Peter lied, taking his belongings and scooting his way towards the mouth of the alley.

“I'm hardly a hero. And I can swear I've seen you somewhere before. You've got this adorableness about you that I could never forget.” Wade continued on. Peter felt that heat stirring up again at the blatant compliment to his apparent “adorableness”. Sure he could understand Wade having a crush on Spider-Man, who wouldn't? But openly admitting that he found the strange, messy, acorn haired twink in the alley at least somewhat appealing made Peter fall deeper into that bottomless pit of love.

“T-thanks for the compliment...and for saving me. But really, we have never met.” He tried to sound convincing and confused, watching Wade's mask carefully for any sign that he was catching on to the lie.

{BOTTLE BOY! BOTTLE BOY!} Yellow exclaimed loudly.

[What?] White wasn't catching on.

“Bottle boy!” Wade snapped his fingers, pointing at Peter triumphantly. “You're the rando who gave me a water bottle on the subway after I had my ass handed to me.”

Peter paused, shocked Wade had remembered that second long interaction at all. He couldn't let this become a habit, it had to end here, this was the last place Wade would ever meet Peter Parker if he could help it. Sure he was currently battling with overpowering emotions of strong, forceful, attraction towards him, but his identity wasn't something he could give up. Not for himself, not even to prevent his own mugging, and not for Wade.

“Oh, yeah. That was me. I was just doing what anybody else would have done.” He admitted but quickly avoided eye contact. “I guess this makes us even huh?”

“Believe me, nobody else would have done that.”

{Spidey would have.} Yellow sighed dreamily.

“Well...maybe some but not too many. You're a good guy...uh...what's your name?” Wade asked and Peter's mind spiraled into full blown panic.

“Wade!” He blurted out, letting the first name that came to mind roll off his tongue. Fuck.

“Oh...that will be easy to remember.” Deadpool laughed before glancing back up to the rooftops. A silence passed between them and the sounds of the city echoed through the streets. Peter watched as a faint beam of moonlight peaked from behind the clouds, shimmering down into the alley. It reflected off Deadpool's suit and caught in the white eyes of his mask as he stared off at the buildings around them, no doubt looking for any signs of Spider-Man. He needed to head home and change as quickly as possible so he could let that barrier between them fall away. He wanted to be close to the mercenary, wanted to feel those strong arms that had saved him and held him close the night before. But they were off limits to Peter Parker.

“Don't worry about these guys anymore. I'll inform the cops about what happened.” Deadpool pulled out his phone before turning to wave goodbye. “Stay out of trouble, Wade.” he smiled then darted down the alley and disappeared into the night, leaving Peter Parker to deal with the ups and downs of the emotional roller coaster he had just ridden on.

 

* * *

 

Red and blue, that's all Wade ever thought of these days. He let his feet dangle lazily off the edge of the parapet, watching as two police cars sped down the street towards the alley where he had been only moments before. The flashing lights of their sirens only reminded him of the similarly colored hero he was currently waiting on. He hated to start patrolling without Spidey, but he knew the wall crawler would be pleased that he was out saving the people of NY even though he wasn't there.

[Good thing we got there when we did, that twink was about to get it.] White noted.

{And not the fun kind of get it either.} Yellow added. {He was cute though, we could of at least taken a rain check on that taco he offered us.}

“Nah, I don't care how cute he was, Spidey gets all my love.” Wade sighed dreamily, looking out over the sky line in hopes to see the webbed wonder swinging against the night sky, but there was nothing. Still, he waited.

“Hope he's alright.” He grumbled to himself, pulling out his phone. It was already ten minutes passed their scheduled meeting time.

[Chill out, it's not like he's never been late before.] White snorted.

{You don't think the potion wore off?} Yellow began to panic. His comment made Wade bite his lower lip, typing a quick text to the hero.

“See you soon? ;) “ He sent it, growing more and more anxious every second it went unread. The whole deal with the potion put him on edge. There were so many unknown variables to be considered, and he had no way of knowing if some other side effects had kicked in at the last minute. His baby boy could be somewhere alone in New York, struggling to make it to him. Or worse, what if the potion had been lethal?

[Would you calm down for a half second please? You're freaking Yellow out.] White barked at him, drawing attention to the distraught whimpers and shrill cries from the other box.

“You're right, no need to overthink things.” Wade tried to assure himself, but that didn't stop the way he began to nervously kick his legs, letting his heels bounce against the brick wall. Finally, he got a response.

“On my way” it read, and not but five minutes later he could hear the recognizable _thwip_ of a web being shot through the air. He abruptly stood, watching as the hero landed on the roof.

“Spidey! You loo-” he didn't get to finish and was instead stunned into silence when his baby boy rushed up to him and wrapped his arms tight around the mercenary in a hug. Spidey pressed his face into Wade's pec, sighing,

“Finally.” quietly to himself, but Wade heard it none the less. After a second or two and Spidey still hadn't loosened his embrace, Wade curled his own arms around the hero, pulling him impossibly closer.

“Hey, you alright there?” He asked, his voice hushed and filled with concern. Sure he knew Spider-Man was under the effects of the love potion and it no doubt was exhausting to battle with it, but there was something about the way Spidey clung to him, like he was relieved or finally at ease. He could feel the hero tense up in his arms after he asked the question. Peter's mind scrambled to find a proper answer. He had been so relieved that Wade had showed up to rescue him, but he couldn't just up and thank Wade for saving his life, and it was already embarrassing enough to admit how much control the potion had over him.

“It's just...that...I...” He struggled with his words for a moment before finally settling on, “It's been a long day, between work and searching for a new place to stay.” He explained, it was partly true at least, he had been looking for a new apartment. “You know, sometimes you just need a hug.” And that was true too, he really did need a hug, and a whole lot of other forms of physical contact, but he wasn't about to indulge.

“Oh yeah?” Wade commented, rubbing his hand slowly over the back of Spidey's head, as if gently pressing him against the ache in his heart.

“Mhm.” Peter sighed, letting his eyes shut. He knew Wade wouldn't push him away, the mercenary would never do something like that. The horrid visions and dreams he had experienced before were just his own irrational fears. Just a moment longer pressed against Wade couldn't hurt. All he needed was a moment. The way Wade held him close, supporting all of Peter's weight and sheltering him from the world made him feel detached, calm and relaxed. He belonged here, or maybe that was the potion's doing.

“You know,” Wade began to speak and Peter pressed harder against Wade's chest, listening to the rumble of his voice as it left him. “I've done a lot of apartment hunting in NYC myself. I could always help out if you'd like.” He offered. And that's when Peter knew it was getting too personal, because he almost agreed right then and there, willingly letting Wade into another part of his life. If he allowed Wade to know where he lived, let him know where he might be moving, that was one step closer to him discovering Peter B. Parker, and that couldn't happen.

Reluctantly Peter pushed himself away, one more second basking in Wade's warmth and he would have said yes.

“It's ok, I'll figure it out. I feel better now anyways.” He shrugged, noticing the warm smile that spread over Wade's face, showing through the mask. “We should patrol,” Peter added, “we need to find that girl with the potions anyways. It's been a few days now.” He steered their conversation into a totally different direction, forcing the mercenary to drop the topic of house hunting.

{I...I think I was holding my breath the whole time!} Yellow exhaled loudly, his excitement matching the racing thrill of Wade's heart.

[Too bad he didn't hug us long enough for you to pass out.] White huffed.

“Is that even possible?” Wade thought back.

[If only.]

{Who cares about all that!? Can we please just take a moment to appreciate how amazing it felt to have him willingly hug _US_ first! This love potion is the best thing that's ever happened to us!} Yellow ranted. {I just...I wish he would be like this for the rest of eternity.}

Although Yellow's wish was selfish and far fetched, he was beyond pleased with the way the rest of their evening played out. Wade and White also noticed how Spidey stuck closer to them than usual, noticed how he would pat Wade's shoulder whenever he apprehended a thug. The hero was constantly hovering near him, as if he couldn't bring himself to be more than a few feet apart at a time. He allowed Wade to swing with him from roof to roof, instead of making the mercenary go on foot like usual. And although they had no luck finding the potion girl, Spidey still seemed in high spirits, even when the late hours of the night grew long and the city life grew quiet. It was well past midnight when Wade noticed the hero fighting off a yawn under his mask while they apprehended a random shooter.

“I guess we should call it a night.” Spidey grumbled as he webbed up the last armed criminal and left a note for the cops. He began to casually stroll off down the alley, Wade following close behind.

{No! This night can't end!} Yellow objected. {We haven't done anything productive at all. It's been nothing but bad guys and muggers. Where is the kissing under the moon light, the snuggling and the spooning!?}

[This isn't a movie. Stuff like that doesn't happen in real life you twit.] White explained as Wade ignored the both of them.

“Well I guess I'll see you tomorrow night. You'll be free to patrol right?” He asked. Spidey stopped short and quickly turned to face the mercenary. He seemed thrown off and abruptly looked down at his feet in order to avoid eye contact with the mercenary.

{Now what?}

“Oh, uh...I was actually planning on coming over...tonight. I mean, I-I just assumed since you texted and said...It's just that...” He fumbled with his words, feeling stupid that he had thought Wade's invitation sincere. Of course the mercenary had just said that to be nice and didn't actually expect Peter to accept the offer. He shouldn't have been so bold as to assume. Peter could feel dread beginning to grow as he realized he would be forced to return to his own, cold, empty bed...alone. It was fine, he could do it again, it would be fine, it was all fine.

“It's uh, it's fine, nevermi-”

{OH MY GOD YES!}

[Well I'll be damned]

“Oh of course! Like I said, whatever you need baby boy.” Wade quickly interjected, noticing the way Spidey fidgeted with his fingers nervously. “I just thought you wouldn't want to. But I was serious, you're always welcome at my place.” Wade assured him, walking up to loop his arm over the timid hero's shoulders.

Peter's anxiety was drowned out by the wave of warmth that spilled from his heart and over the rest of him. Everything about Wade made him feel so at ease. He let the mercenary guide him back to his apartment as he chattered on about his old bunk mates back from his military days. It felt so natural, Peter thought, the two of them making their way home together after a long night of patrolling. Peter couldn't help but feel at home when he entered the apartment. Everything he cared about was here, and right now that was just Wade.

The mercenary yanked off his mask the instant they got inside, chucking it onto the kitchen counter as he made his way to the fridge. He pulled out a beer before turning to look at Spidey who was still standing in the foyer, looking back at Wade, unsure of what he should do. Wade was smacked with sudden realization as he stared back at the hero, in his house, waiting to call it a night in his bed. It was such a rush of events the night before that the reality had never settled in, but now here it was, unavoidable.

Peter fidgeted under the mercenary's gaze. He could practically feel Wade's eyes scanning him, and it wasn't a bad feeling. It made his heart rate spike and he was suddenly aware of how snug his suit was to his skin.

Wade finally brought the bottle to his lips after the hero looked down at the floor, but he couldn't bring himself to stare at anything other than his baby boy.

{Oh fuck.} Yellow whimpered.

“Fuck me.” Wade thought back.

[You're both fucking morons. Stop staring at him and offer him some clothes. No way sleeping in that suit is comfortable and you guys are dreaming if you think he's going to sleep in the buff.] White added.

Wade agreed and cleared his throat after downing half the bottle in his hands.

“Hey uh, I've got a shirt and some sweat pants if you want to sleep in that.” Wade offered and waved for the hero to follow him down the hall to the bedroom.

“Oh uh...just a shirt is fine.” Peter replied as Wade dug through one of his dresser drawers. He didn't notice the way Wade tensed, realizing the hero would be lounging around in one of his own shirts.

“Here!” Wade blurted, chucking a random red T-shirt at Spidey before rushing out of the room and practically slamming the door behind him in his hurry.

“I can't do this!” He whispered to the boxes, grabbing his head in a mini panic.

{Oh hell no, you are so doing this!} Yellow shouted.

[Both of you calm down. There's nothing happening. He's just staying over, so calm the fuck down.] White barked.

“He's in my clothes, sleeping in my bed. It's too much for my stupid heart. Dreaming about this is one thing, but having it actually happen! I'm not equipped for this!” Wade hissed. He didn't want to ruin it. Deadpool wasn't know for his ability to have self control, and although it was true that Spider-Man helped a bit with it, Wade was starting to doubt himself. He knew he could be unstable at times and he feared he would push things too far...and being under the influence of the love potion...Spidey just might let him.

{Who cares! If he says he wants us then he wants us!} Yellow argued.

“That isn't true though!” Wade disagreed. “I want to treat him right, I don't want to wind up going down a road that he'll regret once this is all over.”

[Oh for the love of...if you're so concerned that you'll do something to him, which we all know you _would never,_ then just sleep on the couch!] White huffed, tired of their bullshit.

{But that's no fu-} Yellow was cut off when the bedroom door opened and Spidey stepped out and completely stopped Wade's heart. The mercenary immediately regretted having taken his mask off, there was no way his face wasn't flushed red and his nose wasn't dripping blood like an aroused anime teen.

“Thanks, I'm done. I put my suit on your dresser...if that's ok.” Spidey stated as he stepped out into the hall. He still wore his mask and Wade's red shirt almost looked like an oversized dress on the hero's smaller frame. It sagged around his neck and was close to revealing his whole shoulder. The bottom came down mid thigh and the edge of his boxer briefs just barely peeked out from underneath.

Wade inhaled sharply, doing his best to pull himself together, but it was hard. He wanted to rush over to his baby boy and pull him into a warm snuggle, but he stayed glued to his spot in the living room.

“So uh,” he started, averting his gaze to the sofa, “I'll just crash on the couch so you can take the bed. It's no biggie.” He scratched at the back of his head as he began to remove his many weapons off his person.

“Well...I actually sleep better if you're close...to me.” Peter tried to swallow the nervous bubbles that rose in his throat. “It's just that I'm exhausted and I could really use a good night's sleep.” He reasoned. Wade snapped back to the hero, a bit shocked.

“Are you sure?” His voice was barely above a whisper. Spidey nodded, unable to help the happy tingle the love potion shot through him.

{Don't you dare try and weasel out of this! It's snuggle time baby!} Yellow cheered.

[We're getting far from the shallow now...] White warned, but he went unheeded as Wade left the living room and followed Spidey into his bedroom. He began to shed parts of his suit, kicking his boots to the corner of the room.

“I'll just...I'll just wait out here.” He heard Spidey stammer, giving Wade some privacy to change. The mercenary took the moment alone to calm his racing heart and remind himself that this was for Spider-Man, who couldn't even sleep because of the love potion. This was for Spidey who literally needed him close in order to feel a semblance of normal. This wasn't a romantic situation, just him being a good friend.

{No! Don't say that! This is so totally romantic!}

“Shut up! I'm sure he doesn't see it that way either.” Wade hissed as he slipped into his favorite pair of sweats and a loose T-shirt.

[Do you really think you can kill your own feelings for him?] White sneered. Wade thought he could, until he saw the folded Spider-Man suit on his dresser and it melted his heart. He knew he was destined to always be a hopeless mess.

“You can come back in.” Wade called as he turned off the light and flicked on the bedside lamp. Spidey hurried back in and scrambled into the bed, curling under the covers before Wade could even say a word. The hero's back was turned to him as he finally sat down on the bed and leaned back on his own pillow.

{Kiss him good night!} Yellow suggested.

“No!”

[Well you could at least say it.] White offered. Wade turned to look at Spidey who had gone completely still. He couldn't help but wonder if he was waiting for him to fall asleep so he could snuggle closer like he had last night.

{Yes! Pretend to fall asleep so he'll snuggle us.} Yellow exclaimed.

[Or you could...I don't know, invite him to come closer if he wanted to.]

{Oooh yeah do that! Pull him over to us! Then push up the mask and kiss him long and hard. Then show him what else is long and hard!}

[Not what I said...at all.]

Wade ignored their advice and turned to stare back up at the ceiling, trying to concentrate on falling asleep. The voices in his head chattered on for several minutes, however, it was a different voice that kept Wade from dozing off.

“Wade...” Spidey whispered and the mercenary immediately wondered if he was sleep talking, still, he answered.

“Something wrong?” He asked. Spidey rolled over to face him, pushing himself up onto his arm.

“I can't...it's just, well...can I...” he struggled to spit out his question. It was nerve wracking to ask the person you were pining over if it was alright to basically sleep pressed up against them. But Peter couldn't ease the magnetic force that made him want to be directly beside the mercenary. It was making his muscles twitch and his skin feel cold. Wade seemed to understand what he wanted and nodded, moving his arm in a way that allowed Spidey to scoot closer and use his shoulder as a pillow.

Peter was hesitant at first but soon crawled over and situated himself against Wade's side. He rolled so his face was pressed against the mercenaries' chest and he could hear his heart thrumming in his ears. Peter bit his lip at the sudden urge to go further and crawl on top of the mercenary instead, using his pecs as a pillow and slotting himself between the man's legs. A shiver traveled down his spine as he tried to picture how perfectly he would fit. Wade was big enough that he could for sure fall asleep on top of him without crushing the mercenary.

Peter snuck his arm up to rest on the mercenary's stomach, loosely hugging him. He could feel his abs under the shirt, they were much more toned than his own. If he had been laying on top of him he could feel the rest of him, his shoulders, arms, pecs, and tree trunk sized thighs. From that position all he had to do was press down slightly and he would be able to feel the mercenary's length through his sweats. He was positive it was huge like the rest of Wade.

Peter inhaled sharply, realizing for the second time that night that his own thoughts were quickly getting him aroused. He had to distract his own brain and think of something to curve the warm tingles shooting through his nerves.

“Did you find Hit Monkey today?” He asked, hoping that a conversation about Wade's recent job would momentarily kill the love potion boiling in him.

“No, I think I might have a lead though. I'm not entirely sure.” Wade yawned, rubbing small circled over Spidey's shoulder subconsciously.

“He seems dangerous.” Peter noted, recalling the horrible state he had found Wade in on the subway, and how he had been mutilated just the night before. Remembering that did the trick and all lust left him completely. Seeing Wade hurting and beaten to the point that no other hero would survive made Peter's blood boil and his heart ache. Just because Wade would heal and come back from the dead didn't mean he couldn't feel that pain, it didn't mean that he should have to suffer through it. He didn't deserve to be used like that. And if he hadn't had a healing factor...he would have been dead a long time ago. The thought was more than upsetting.

“He is,” Wade agreed, “especially when he's lost his mind. He's relentless too, I'll give him that.”

“I don't want him to hurt you like that again.” Spidey muttered, clenching his hand tightly into Wade's shirt. The mercenary paused, glancing down at the hero curled up against him.

“It's alright, he's not smart enough to do real damage to me.” Wade assured him with a gentle pat.

“Not do real damage? What about last night? That looked like real damage to me Wade. Your ribs were sticking out of you!” He argued, turning his head to look into the mercenary's eyes. “Let me help you, then maybe we'll catch him without you getting so hurt.” he offered. A soft smile spread across Wade's face and he leaned down to press a short kiss to Spidey's forehead.

“That's sweet of you Baby boy, but I don't want to involve you with him. If he landed a single scratch on you I'd never forgive myself. Plus, he's mostly sneaking around during the day and don't you have work?” Wade attempted to talk him out of it. Peter huffed, feeling irritated by Wade's refusal to let him help, but also feeling overwhelmingly flustered at the kiss and pet name.

“Fine, I'll drop the subject for now...but only because I'm tired.” He grumbled, closing his eyes for emphasis. Wade chuckled, his voice rumbling in Peter's ear, soothing his aggravation.

“Whatever you say.” Wade hummed as his eyes drifted shut. They both fell quiet, lulled to sleep by the sound of each other's steady breathing. Hours later Peter awoke to a heavy weight on his arm. He opened his eyes to find a face full of Wade's shoulder with half of the man rolled on top of him. The mercenary was sprawled over the bed, trapping Peter under one of his massive legs. If it wasn't for his super strength Peter figured he probably wouldn't have been able to breathe.

He couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he carefully slipped out from under Wade's arm. The mercenary whined in his sleep before rolling back over and continuing to breathe heavily. Peter glanced over at the bed side clock, he had about forty five minutes before he had to be at the school. He had only gotten a few hours of sleep but he felt well rested and awake. There was no denying it now, he definitely slept better next to the mercenary.

He stayed on the edge of the bed for a minute longer, watching Wade's chest as it rose and fell to the rhythm of his breathes. He reached a hand over to grab Wade's scarred one, rubbing his fingers caressingly over the divots and rough patterns in his skin. He didn't want to leave, he wanted to crawl back under the covers and wrap himself around Wade. He wanted to watch him wake as the morning sun peeked through the tattered blinds and warmed the room. He wanted to feel Wade's muscles moving under him as he woke up. He wanted to give him a morning kiss, wanted to have breakfast with him, wanted to do this everyday.

“But for how long?” He thought to himself, wondering what day now the love potion would wear off. Would he be able to feel the effects wearing off? Would he slowly feel the attachment to the mercenary waining? How long before he could sleep alone again? How long before the texture of Wade's skin didn't light sparks under his finger tips? How long before his bulging muscles and outgoing personality no longer made his heart swoon?

He gave the mercenary's hand a tight squeeze, mimicking the way his own heart tightened up. What if he didn't want it to end? The idea that maybe the love potion would never ware off didn't seem so frightening, and was way more appealing then having to go back to his lonely every day life. Speaking of, he had papers to read before Spring break ended and all the students returned, awaiting his input on their projects.

Peter gave a reluctant sigh and pushed himself off the bed. He folded the red T-shirt the man had let him borrow and placed it on the dresser where his suit had been sitting. He left another note, almost identical to the last one, but this time he may or may not have signed the “I” in “Spider-Man” with a small heart.

He hurried and webbed his way home in order to change out of the suit and grab his backpack. He had just enough time to make himself a PB&J sandwich to go. He stuffed it in a brown paper bag, slipped it in his bag and darted out of his apartment. He made one stop on his way to the school. Somewhere between his work and him and Wade's designated meet up spot, there was a roof where one of his go bags was hidden. He stashed his suit here for the day, not wanting to take it with him to the college, he wasn't willing to take a risk on someone seeing it in his bag. Also, he wouldn't have to go all the way home to change after work and that would give him more time with the mercenary, it was a win win situation.

After that he jumped on the bus to Empire State University and wasted no time falling into the groove of work. Things were going great. By lunch time he had already proof read three papers and one Hypothesis. He had answered several student's e-mails regarding math, english and whatever other subjects they needed help on. The thoughts of patrolling later with Wade kept a smile on his face and a pep in his step. The only thing weighing in his mind was the mystery of the potion girl and the fact that Wade was out there somewhere looking for the murderous Hit-Monkey.

Peter tried to put it all out of his mind and took a quick lunch break. He grabbed his bag of papers and headed outside where he could hopefully find some peace and quiet on one of the many campus pick-nick tables. He sat down on the old wooden bench at the table, retrieving his bag of food. He attempted to focus on his lunch, lazily watching a flock of pigeons piddling around on the campus grounds. There weren't any students in sight, and most of the staff had gone out to get their own lunch, he was alone outside for the most part. But he was ok with that, it gave him a chance to finally relax.

However, his meal was interrupted when the sound of gunshots suddenly echoed from inside the school. Peter immediately dropped his sandwich and spun around, staring in the direction of the building where he thought he had heard the noise. There were no shouts, no calls for help, no more echoing pops, and even his spider sense seemed to be asleep. Was he hearing things? He slowly stood from the table, taking a few steps towards the building just to be sure. Perhaps someone's tire had blown out on the streets somewhere, or a number of things could have happened. There was no need to jump to conclusions.

He had just turned back to the table when the sound of shattering glass nearly had him jumping out of his skin. He whipped around just in time to see a small figure scrambling out of the third floor window of the study hall. It raced onto the roof but stopped once it reached the top. Peter squinted, trying to make out who was on the roof and breaking windows around the school. Was this some sort of prank? The figure wore a black suit with yellow spots and was about the height of a child. Everything clicked into place when he saw Deadpool climbing through the same broken window.

“Hit-Monkey!” He exclaimed, watching wide eyed as Wade made his way onto the roof as well. He could hear the mercenary yelling something to the crazed monkey, but he was too far to make out what it was. So many things began to race through his mind as he stood frozen, unsure of what to do. Why was Hit-Monkey at the school? Did he have time to go get his suit? Would Wade finally catch him this time?

Peter took a few steps closer, wishing he hadn't left his suit in the go bag, he had to trust that Wade could handle the situation. But a dread began to fill the pit of his stomach when he noticed the lack of weapons on the mercenary. Where were all his guns and his swords? All he had was what appeared to be a tranquilizer gun and a pair of handcuffs.

“Is he crazy!?” Peter exclaimed aloud. He watched as Wade took a shot with the sleeping darts at Hit-Monkey, but the other mercenary dodged skillfully, somersaulting into the air. Hit-Monkey screeched in rage, pulling two guns from the inner folds of his suit. He leapt onto a flag pole, gripping it with his hands and firing both guns with his feet. Wade rolled out of the way, missing all the shots except for one. A bullet ripped through his left shoulder, but he didn't seem the least bit fazed.

“Come on Wade!” Peter hissed, wincing as he imagined the pain the bullet must have left. He hurried closer, trying his best to keep out of sight but to get in ear shot of the mercenary.

“Come on you damned monkey, can't we just talk like civilized people?” Wade quipped as he took another shot. This time Hit-Monkey caught the needle and crushed it in his grip before chucking it back at Wade with an angry hiss. He retaliated with a barrage of bullets but this time he also pulled a grenade from his belt, pulled the pin and chucked it in the direction Wade had dodged.

“Look out!” Peter screamed frantically, but his words went unnoticed and Wade realized what had happened all too late. A loud explosion shook the campus and Peter had to cover his ears as a sharp ringing sound echoed in his brain. Shingles, brick and mortar rained down from the roof to litter the lawn. When the dust had cleared Peter scanned the roof for any signs of Wade. His heart sunk when he saw him lying over the peak of a smaller roof. His suit was torn in several places, revealing where chunks of his flesh had been literally blown away. His right leg from the knee down was missing and Peter spotted it just a few feet away on the grass.

He wanted Wade to get up, wanted him to finish the fight and kick that stupid monkey's ass. But he couldn't bear to watch anymore. His heart ached for Wade, imagining the pain he was going through. He couldn't stand idly by anymore, suit or not, Peter couldn't let Wade get mutilated further. Thinking quickly he darted back to the pick-nick table and grabbed his brown paper lunch bag. He emptied its contents and pulled it over his head. Poking two small holes to look out of, he took off towards the study hall. He knew it was a risk running into the fight with only a paper bag to mask his identity. But it was a risk he was willing to take, he couldn't let Wade get beaten to death.

By now Wade was attempting to push himself back onto his feet. His head was spun around the wrong way and he reached his arms up to fumble with his neck. Peter shivered, he couldn't watch as Wade snapped his head back around and into place.

“That's one way to see things from a different perspective.” Wade groaned, watching as Hit-Monkey stalked towards him, guns drawn. He had accepted defeat this time around, maybe next time he would finally get him. He closed his eyes, wincing in preparation for the storm of bullets destined to tear through him.

{I feel like we aren't even trying. This is some bullshit right here!} Yellow growled angrily.

[We aren't! We didn't even bring Bea and Arthur. What, did you think you would talk him into turning himself in?] White hissed.

“We don't kill anymore! I've got to learn to do things differently. Besides, he used to be reasonable.” Wade thought back.

{This conversation isn't over.}

[Yes, once we wake up again, we'll need to talk about this whole no killing thing] White agreed as Wade gritted his teeth, waiting for Hit-Monkey to off him again. _Pop, Pop_ , two bullets flew from the gun and tore through his leg and gut. There was a third _pop_ , but a bullet never reached him. Instead he heard Hit-Monkey screeching in irritation, firing his guns in a different direction. Wade looked up just in time to see a paper bagged man flip over the roof, throwing a brick at Hit-Monkey.

{What the fuck...}

The bagged man landed on the other side of the roof, perched in an all too familiar squatting position. When the monkey fired his guns at the stranger, he dodged them with ease, flipping and twisting in the air as if he had been born a gymnast, coming out of the womb on a flying trapeze.

“Spidey?” Wade croaked, it had to be. He didn't know anyone else who could move like that.

“No! Bad monkey!” Peter shouted angrily, trying to get close enough to disarm him. Bullets flew in every direction as Hit-Monkey shot randomly, attempting to scare off the new attacker. One of the bullets struck Wade again just as he was starting to pull himself up. It tore through his arm and he fell onto his face, grunting in pain.

“Stop shooting him!” Peter barked, grabbing the vent box on the roof beside him. Using his super strength he tore it off the building and sent it flying through the air at the monkey. “Just because he can heal from it doesn't mean you can turn him into your personal pin cushion!” He shouted in irritation as he flipped over Hit-Monkey and positioned himself between Wade and the monkey.

“What are you doing here Spidey?” Wade groaned, finally able to sit up.

“Saving your ass.” He barked, clearly upset. “What's wrong with this guy?” He chucked another loose brick in the monkey's direction, managing to knock one of the guns from his grip.

“What's up with the bag on your head?” Wade ignored him.

“Wade! I'm serious!” Peter blurted, he needed to find a way to stop Hit-Monkey before Wade took anymore damage.

“Sorry, sorry. Uh. I'm not sure. I've never seen him this angry. Well...not really angry, he's like...deranged. Fury said he just snapped one day.” Wade explained.

“He just snapped...but why?” Peter thought aloud, dodging another attack from the monkey. He jumped far enough back he was given a few seconds to really look at the animal. He noticed the strange yellow spots on his suit again. They sparkled and glittered in the sun, but looked as if they had been randomly splattered onto his clothes, almost like bright stains. The way it clung to his clothes reminded Peter of the pink goo that he had scraped from his own suit after he was hit with the love potion.

“Wade! His suit! He's been hit with one of those potions!” Peter shouted. “The effects must have made him go crazy.” He concluded.

“It must be a long lasting one like yours!” Wade added.

“No, I think he's just been constantly exposed to it. It's still on his clothes! Look!” He pointed at the yellow splotches before Hit-Monkey yelped and back flipped back onto the flag pole. He fired the guns wildly, clearly too worked up to aim properly.

“We need to get him cleaned off so the effects can wear off naturally.” Peter explained as an idea struck him. He darted over to Wade and wrapped his arms around him before leaping off the building.

“Easy on the leg.” Wade inhaled sharply as the landing jostled his wounds.

“Sorry. Just hold on. I'm going to try and get him to chase us into the campus fountain.” Spidey explained, running as fast as he could towards the front of the university. “Is he following?”

A lone bullet zipped past them, lodging in the ground near Peter's feet.

“Yes.” Wade exclaimed, watching as Hit-Monkey gained on them. He swung from the trees and onto the light posts lining the walkway, shooting and hissing at them all the while.

Peter could see the fountain as he rounded the corner of the school. It was a large decorative piece with a spout that shot water at least ten feet into the air, it was perfect. Peter got there just in time to set Wade down on the other side of the fountain. Quickly he stepped into the knee deep water and waved his arms wildly.

“Hey! Hit-Monkey, over here!” He called, hoping the mad monkey would take the bait. The tricky part now was keeping him submerged in the water long enough for most of the goo to wash off. The other part was making sure that he didn't come in contact with it either.

Hit-Monkey was too blinded by rage to see the obvious trap set out for him, and jumped into the fountain after Spider-Man. The water almost came up to his neck and he flailed around in it bitterly. Peter lunged forward before the monkey could raise his arms or feet to fire and yanked the weapons from his grip, tossing them onto the lawn several feet away. Hit-Monkey screeched and spat as Peter grabbed the back of his suit collar and held him up in the spraying water, making sure the goo was leaving his attire.

Peter's confidence increased when he saw the yellow goop beginning to disappear, now all they had to do was wait for the monkey to return to normal. Hopefully later that night he would go back to his usual self. All that was left was to get Wade bandaged and to get back into his suit as quickly as possible. Unfortunately things soon went south as Hit-Monkey began to flail and swing his arms wildly.

The motion from his sudden antics caused Peter's grip to loosen. Hit-Monkey used the opportunity to flip out of his grip and onto his arm. He kicked both his feet roughly into Peter's face, knocking him backwards into the fountain before bouncing out of the water and scurrying off and into the concrete jungle.

Peter sat up coughing and spitting, fountain water having gone up his nose. He stood up quickly, trying to fumble out of the water.

“W-where did he go? Did he get away?” He frantically asked, reaching up to rub the water from his eyes. He paused, feeling the bare skin of his face. Dread shot through him when he heard Deadpool gasp from his spot on the ground.

“Wade!?” Wade exclaimed, and Peter's heart stopped.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a million times sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out to you guys. I'm sure I say this every time a chapter is late (and every time it's 100% true) but I was incredibly busy at the start of this month. Got a new job! So that's fun. I should be working on art commissions and school but instead I've been typing this super long monstrosity. (Lol sry, ya'll don't need to hear all that). 
> 
> ALSO!
> 
> Just a heads up, my beta reader is going out of town next week so don't expect another chapter by then. Also, are you guys cool with the lengthier chapters? I can make them shorter if needed (like all my other fics)


	4. If There's a Prize For Rotten Judgement...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter and Wade begin to grow closer and Peter finds himself faced with a tough decision when he realizes the potion may soon wear off. Also, White refuses to cut Wade a break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you dive into this chapter there is one thing that I would like to point out. In this story Peter already knows about the boxes. I had thought about introducing him to them in this story but I felt like ultimately their friendship prior to the story's beginning was close enough for Wade to have introduced Spidey to them already. And I'm not sure if you recall but in either chapter 2 or 3 Wade texted Spidey and said something along the lines of "The boxes are worried about you." Or something like that. 
> 
> Anywho, now that that's out of the way. Hope you enjoy the chapter :)

“Wade!?” Wade's voice was like a wind of ice and snow, freezing Peter in place. He couldn't move, too stiff by reality, by what was happening.

{WHAT!?} Yellow was screaming on repeat.

[Spider-Man is bottle boy?] White whispered.

{ WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WH-}

Wade had to shake his head to ignore Yellow as he had an obnoxious freak out session. His neck ached with the movement but he didn't care.

“You...on the train....” Wade pointed at him. The whites of his mask were like saucers as he struggled with thought and human speech. “The alley! You were...but you...” He all at once shouted, not noticing the pure expression of fear and panic that was washing over his baby boy. Peter felt like his legs would buckle out from underneath him, the world was spinning. Wade's voice rang in his ears as the color drained from his face. He felt like he might as well have been standing naked in the public fountain, exposed to the world. Luckily for him Wade had yet to call him “Spider-Man” and seemed too shell shocked to form real sentences.

Peter needed the suit, needed the mask, he needed to hide. Forgetting all about Wade's injuries he leapt out of the fountain and took off as fast as he could. His legs carried him off campus and through the streets, dodging cars and civilians. He hurried to his go bag and changed into his suit faster than he thought possible, no doubt he had broken a record of some kind.

He yanked the mask down over his head and just breathed. He was overly aware of the racing beat of his own heart and the jittery dance his fingers did from the adrenaline rush. He tried to think, tried to form a plan and calm himself down, but the only thing that came to mind was the fact that he wanted to go home and curl up under the covers, fall asleep and forget the world existed. And so he did.

Except, it wasn't his home, and it definitely wasn't his bed. Peter crawled into the bedroom window of Wade's apartment, keeping the lights turned off. He lingered in the dark shadows of the room until his heart stopped trying to murder him. Then it hit him, and he cried. He wobbled over to the bed and flopped down on it in a pathetic heap, letting the tears get trapped under his mask.

He knew it was over, he had no other walls to keep him away from the mercenary. He had always thought that maybe one day he would reveal his face to Wade, and it would have been clever or sweet, but done on his own time. But now it was out, and there was no way he would be able to keep the love potion in now. Wade would be able to read his expressions, Wade would be able to see him blush as he stared longingly at him like a pining teenager. It wasn't that he didn't trust Wade with his secret identity...it was that he couldn't trust himself, couldn't trust Peter Parker with Wade.

A very small part of him felt relieved, the game was over, he had lost but at least it was over. Now he could give in completely to the love potion and ride it out, but what would come afterwards was uncertain and that scared him more than anything.

So he cried. Cried about losing the fight with the love potion, cried about unmasking himself, cried about his bad luck with love, cried about leaving Wade hurt and wounded at the university, cried about his failure at house hunting, but mostly he cried about the pain a future without Wade would hold.

He was an emotional mess until he heard the front door unlock and slide open. He tried to stop the water works, reducing them to hiccups and muffled whimpers as he laid sprawled out on the bed, face buried in Wade's pillow. By now his mask felt sticky and wet sliding against his cheeks and lips, but he refused to move it, he was too embarrassed.

He felt bad, running away from Wade like he had and leaving him confused and alone to hobble home. But he had needed some space, knowing that eventually they would have to talk about this.

Peter bit his trembling lip as he listened to Wade stumbling around the apartment, talking loudly to himself.

“Shut up. I know he ran, but I can't keep up with only one and a half legs.” He hissed at no one. Peter could hear him moving through the entrance, into the living room and towards the hall.

“Of course he's upset. We probably won't see him for a few days either.” Wade muttered angrily. He heard the bedroom knob turning.

“Yellow, you know that's wishful thinking-” the door slowly swung open and Wade cut his sentence short, eyes landing on the web slinger curled up on his side of the bed, mask and all.

{I was right! He did come home!}

[Hey you didn't word it that way, how was I supposed to know that's what you meant?] White growled back. They went ignored. Wade stilled in the threshold, unmoving. He silently watched the small tremors rattling the hero's shoulders. In that moment Wade could feel how delicate the situation was. One wrong move, one wrong word and he feared Spidey would bolt out the nearest window. He wanted to help, wanted to console him, wanted to let him know it was ok and maybe if he threw himself off the roof he would forget what had happened. He was willing to try, obviously the web head was upset, brought to tears even.

[It's not our fault we saw his face though.] White remarked.

{He's so fucking cute.} Yellow couldn't read the situation.

[What's new?]

Finally Wade took a step closer, hobbling on the small appendage beginning to grow from the severed part of his other leg. He neared the bed, standing by the edge.

“I'm sorry Spidey.” He whispered. “I didn't mean to look.” He wanted to reach out, put a hand on those trembling shoulders and hug him close, but he refused to move.

“It-it's ok.” He heard the hero stammer, rolling over so Wade could see the eyes of the mask. “It w-wasn't your f-fault.” his voice was broken, but he wasn't sobbing anymore, and that was a good step in the right direction. Wade couldn't fight it, hearing the weak strain as the web head tried to keep it together.

“Oh, baby boy,” Wade cooed sympathetically reaching out a hand to stroke Spidey's arm. “tell me about it?” He offered to listen, smiling warmly when the hero pushed himself up and threw his arms around Wade's shoulders, burying his head in the crook of Wade's neck.

“Y-yes. There's a-a lot we need to, to talk about.” He gave a shaky sigh, feeling a bit of relief at Wade's easy going mood. “I'm sorry I left you there.” He added, rubbing his hand gently over a divot where Wade's skin was beginning to grow back.

“It's ok, I made it home didn't I? I don't blame you for running Wade...” Wade paused when he felt the hero tense in his arms. “Is...is it okay if I use your real name when we're alone?” He whispered, hoping to god the hero would grant him the right. He felt Spidey give a shy nod before pulling back, and looking into the Deadpool mask.

“But uhm...Wade isn't actually my name.” He muttered, ashamed. “I uh...lied about it back in the alley. I didn't want you to know who I was and your name was just the first one that came to mind.” He confessed, drawing circles in the sheets with his fingers. It grew awkwardly quiet until Wade all at once burst into a warm laugh.

“I should have know.” He added.

{What!? So the great duo Wade&Wade is a lie!?} Yellow whined.

“I'll tell you my real name, I swear!” Peter blurted out, grabbing Wade's knee as he scooted closer. “But will you...take off your mask first?” He wanted some semblance of control in the situation. He didn't want to feel like the only one out in the open and vulnerable. If he was going to reveal his name, tell it all and give in, then he wanted to do it facing Wade, not Deadpool.

“Oh uh. Sure.” Wade grabbed the edge of his mask and tugged it off eagerly, wondering if this would be the only time he had ever so willingly removed his own mask. Peter could feel more of the nerves subsiding, feel the panic beginning to fade as Wade smiled at him with his crystal blue eyes. He could fully see the warmth and life in his smile and it coaxed the truth out of him before he even realized he was speaking.

“Peter Benjamin Parker...That's my name.” He stated, unable to look away as Wade processed the new information and tossed the name around in his mind.

{Oh that is so much better than our name! It's so soft and pleasant to say! Imagine all the cute nicknames we could call him now! Perfect Peter, Pudding Pete, Mr. Parker...} Yellow went on.

[Petey pie.] White added, and Wade went with it.

“Petey pie...” He could practically taste the sweetness in the words as it rolled off his tongue. The moment the pet name was in the air he could feel Peter's fingers grip his knee tighter, could see the white's of his mask widen.

Peter felt short of breath. He had been given many nicknames growing up, some good, some bad, and others said in love, like MJ's pet name “Tiger.” But there was a way Wade said his, he smiled at him like he believed with every fiber of his being that Spider-Man was his “baby boy”. He ever so naturally whipped up a new one, donning Peter as his sweet “Petey Pie”. They were endearing, said with affection and honesty and it made Peter weak.

He was pulled out of his inner swooning session when Wade slowly trailed his hand up Peter's arm, over his shoulder and let it rest cupping his neck. His fingers glided over the nearly invisible line separating the suit from the mask.

“Would you...I mean can I...” Wade searched for the proper phrasing. He wasn't sure how sensitive of a topic this was, but the need to look into Spidey's eyes and memorize every feature of his face was maddening.

“I want to see you...if that's ok.” He whispered, a bubbly giddy feeling pushed on his heart when Peter gave a small nod. This was happening. Sure he had seen his face on the subway, in the alley and in the fountain, but he hadn't really looked at him. He hadn't taken the time to remember the color of his eyes or the shape of his face. He couldn't remember if his hair was dark or light brown, and he wanted to know so badly.

He let his fingers slide under the rim of the mask as he carefully and slowly began to role it up. He found those familiar pink lips, this time wet and rosy. His cheeks were tear stained and red and Wade couldn't help but chuckle quietly.

“Oh Spidey baby,” he half laughed half cooed, “do you need a tissue?” He teased and ran his gloved thumb across his wet cheeks and under his nose. A dark blush dusted over Peter's face and the hero made to pull away.

“I-I forgot I had been crying! Wait you don't want to see me! My face is probably covered in snot!” He exclaimed, fumbling to roll backwards and retreat to the bathroom, but Wade wasn't letting him go anywhere.

“Nuhuh! I'm not waiting another second. My face is covered in scars and yours is covered in snot, we'll be gross together!” He objected, pinning the hero on the bed with his weight. He gripped the top of Peter's mask and pulled it the rest of the way off in one quick motion, leaving Peter blinking at the swiftness of it.

They both went still. Wade held his breath as he took in every little feature about Peter. His doe brown eyes, slightly pink and puffy from the tears. His eye lashes were dark, still damp. His hair was a wavy mess of acorn brown with a curly whoosh in the front that drooped at the end onto his forehead.

{He's perfect. Like the actual definition of perfect.} Yellow sighed, temporarily satisfied with life.

[Yeah he's cute I guess.]

“You guess?” Wade thought, ready to ridicule the White box for his lack of enthusiasm.

Peter on the other hand couldn't get his heart to still. It leaped and summersaulted in his chest as he felt Wade's gaze glued to him. It was a rush and all he could think was how badly he wanted to lean up and smash their lips together. He felt like perhaps that was the next best thing to do in a situation like this. It felt right.

“What were you doing at the school?” Wade asked, his voice hushed as he found himself staring into those dark chocolate eyes. He wanted so much more than to just look at the hero, he wanted to feel him, smell him and practically taste him. He slowly worked his glove off as Peter answered, keeping his own voice low to mirror the mercenary's.

“I started working as a tutor there after I graduated.” He sighed, biting his lower lip as he felt Wade's bare hand move up to cup his cheek. Those scarred fingers gently moving across his skin and caressing his cheek sent shivers of lust down his spine. He squirmed a little, uncertain of what to do about the slow arousal starting to build within him. His eyes kept falling to Wade's lips and all he could think to do was push himself up and press them to his own.

He built up the nerve as Wade's hand traveled up to comb through his soft locks and push the lazy curl off his brow. “Now” Peter thought and was just about to reach up for Wade when he felt the mercenary still, his thumb brushing over the scabbing gash over his eyebrow where he had been hit by the mugger's gun the other day. He could see the contentment leaving Wade's eyes, replaced with anger and frustration.

For a second Wade could feel a new rush of fury coursing over him. That had been Spider-Man down there, that had been his baby boy pinned against the wall with dirty boots kicking him. He couldn't understand it.

“Why?” He let a growl escape him and immediately Peter dropped all plans of kissing the mercenary. He could feel the mood shifting as Wade's brows furrowed together and he locked eye contact, meeting him with a frown. Peter just gaped at him, confused.

“Why did you let them beat you like that? Back in the alley?” Wade was visibly irritated and for some reason...it stung. It stung Peter to see Wade upset and bitter, and to have it directed at him no less. Defense flared in him and he pushed Wade's shoulders back, giving himself some space.

“I couldn't do anything about it. I didn't have my mask with me.” He snapped, hoping that would explain itself. It didn't.

“So, you were just going to let yourself get mugged in an alley?” He asked angrily, not realizing he was taking it out on Peter. All he knew was that he had gotten there seconds before things got too ugly.

“They had guns! What was I supposed to do? I can't...I can't just use my super strength on unsuspecting muggers if my face is showing. They would have remembered me! I felt trapped and scared and I couldn't think of anything else to do but call for help!” He rebutted, feeling those tears of frustration threatening to come back, and Wade must have seen it. Seen the hurt and pain settling on his face because he didn't argue back and instead let Peter get it off his chest.

“You don't know how frustrating it is to not be able to do anything as Peter Parker! If I could be Spider-Man all the time then my problems would be solved. Spider-Man doesn't get mugged, people love Spider-Man, Spider-Man doesn't have to look for a new apartment and worry about costs!” He waved his arm in the air dramatically as he tried to blink back the stubborn tears. This wasn't supposed to happen, they weren't supposed to bicker with each other and it made his heart ache.

Wade was quiet and Peter could tell he was thinking deeply about what had just been said. Finally he gave a heavy sigh before scooting himself closer to Peter again. Softly he reached for the hero's hand, cupping it in his much larger one.

“You're right. I don't understand. But I do understand that I don't want to see you get hurt and I want to help...if you'll let me.” Peter's frustration was dying down again, grateful for Wade. Everything about him, even when he was upset, was just so attractive. All his anger wasn't directed at him, not really, it was more of a strong concern and it made Peter feel cherished.

“You did help me already. You saved me back there.” Peter smiled, he knew Wade would always be there for him, Wade would always have his back. But...would he always appreciate that?

“Yeah I know but...you keep talking about how you're looking for a new place. Why don't...I mean you're welcome to...live here. If you don't want to that's fine but maybe you can stay here while you're looking? You said your lease was running out soon, right?” Wade squeezed his hand lightly, hoping the hero would agree.

{Yes! YEEEEEEESSSSSSS! We might as well get married after this.} Yellow screamed enthusiastically.

[This won't end well. What happens if he says yes and moves in and one day he waked up angry as fuck because the love potion has worn off and he's sleeping in our bed? He'd never talk to us again.] White warned, but Yellow was quick to talk over him.

{Please say yes please say yes please say yes,} He repeated. Peter sat quietly, shocked from the generous offer. Similar thoughts raced through his mind, what would happen when the love potion was over? He'd no doubt want to move out again? He closed his eyes, trying to picture it, his new home. But no matter how hard he tried he couldn't see himself living anywhere but here, sleeping anywhere but in this bed, close to anybody except Wade. He opened his eyes and smiled.

“I'd love that.”

 

* * *

 

 

The weekend had finally come, and with it, the day Peter's lease was over. But that didn't matter anymore, he could finally kiss that dump of an apartment goodbye.

“Wow Petey, you weren't kidding when you said this place was cramped. I think my bathroom is bigger than this.” Wade mused as he stepped into Peter's apartment for the first and last time. “I was like expecting a creepy dark spider cave where you kept all your hero gear and maybe it would be covered in spider webs and stuff.” He jokes as he carried a stack of folded boxes, waiting for the younger hero to give him instructions on what to do with them.

“Very funny. Well, at least it won't take us as long to get all this packed up.” Peter shrugged. He pointed to the wall, watching the mercenary as he set the boxes to lean against it. It always hit him differently, seeing Wade in civilian clothing. This time he was sporting a pair of washed out jeans, a navy blue shirt with mid length sleeves, and a gray beanie. It was almost too...normal. He felt domestic again, something he had lost after MJ left him. A warm smile crept onto his face as he began to assemble the boxes.

“So, what do you want me to start with?” Wade asked as he opened the hero's closet and looked through his clothes out of pure curiosity. He couldn't help but notice every minute detail about the apartment. It was an open book to the hero's secret life that he was starting to get familiar with. So far, every second around Peter Parker, he was falling deeper in love, which he had previously thought impossible. He noticed everything about him, like the empty coffee cups stacked in the trash can, a glaring contrast to the beer bottles in his own home. Or how most of the posters on his wall were science or math related. “Nerd.” Wade chuckled to himself, feeling his heart swell as he turned back to peeking in the closet.

{Where are his other suits? I wanted to see them all.} Yellow huffed, disappointed at the normal attire hanging from the rack.

[We should take him shopping, get him something cute to wear.] White added.

“Oh, now you're interested?” Wade thought back.

[Well if you're going to go down this path despite my warnings, I might as well enjoy it before it's over.]

“If you want to grab all the papers off my desk and put it in this box that would be great.” Peter pointed to the small, paper covered desk in the corner of the room. There were so many things crammed onto the small surface that he couldn't even see the top of the table.

Wade grabbed one of the smaller boxes and made his way over to the mess of papers, notes and all sorts of random things. He worked slowly, noticing practically everything as he placed it in the box. There was a stash of receipts for weird science things that Wade had no clue what they were for. There were bills and a newspaper where job openings had been circled in red. But there were two things in particular that caught Wade's eye.

The first were four glass vials filled with glittery pink goo. They sat on top of an open notebook covered in mathematical equations and notes. The mercenary raised a brow, unable to hold back his curiosity anymore.

“What's this?” He asked, holding one of the vials up for Peter to see.

“Oh. That's the love potion slime I scraped off my suit before washing it. I had saved some because I was going to try and find a cure. But as you know, that didn't work out too well. Set them on my bed so I can flush the goo later.” Peter waved it off and went back to boxing up random items he pulled out from under his bed.

{Thank you sparkly slime magic. You are the best thing that has ever happened to us.} Yellow praised the vials as Wade carefully moved them onto Peter's bed, making sure not to break one. He couldn't help but feel slightly uneasy after discovering the vials. It was like a glaring reminder that it wasn't true emotions coursing through the hero, just the side effects to that stupid pink drug. He didn't want to admit it...but it hurt.

[Told ya.]

{Am I the only one capable of looking on the bright side here? Just because he's under the love potion right now doesn't mean he won't love us after it's all over. Think about it. We've been here for him during all of this, there's no way he won't appreciate that at least.} Yellow pointed out. And try as he might, it didn't do much to lift Wade's spirits. When he turned back to the desk he was hit with another reminder, this one a bit more devastating than the last.

[That has to be her.] White grumbled as Wade's eyes fell on a cracked red picture frame propped up against the corner of the desk and the wall. It was partially covered by papers, but there was no denying the red headed woman smiling in the photo.

“MJ.” Wade thought. He had never actually met or seen the woman, but Peter had told him enough back when they were dating to know this had to be her. Her bright smile and warm eyes felt like a punch in the gut. And the fact her photo was still framed, sitting in his room, let Wade know that the hero was still holding on to something.

[I hate to say this again but...I Told you.]

Wade tried to ignore the frame, refusing to look at it as he continued stacking papers into the box. But she kept appearing. He found her name written on the lease papers, he found a birthday card she had sent Peter. More, smaller, pictures were mixed in randomly, hidden under the rest of the crap on the desk. It was too much. Finally, unable to bear it anymore, Wade grabbed the frame of MJ and turned back to Peter.

“Do you want me to put this in the box too? Or were you going to throw it away?” He asked, trying to mask the pain in his voice.

[That's not very subtle.]

Peter sat up, looked at the picture and heaved a deep sigh.

“Yeah,” he said reaching out to take it. “I don't really need to take that with me. It's just going to take up space.” He grumbled. Wade felt relief at the hero's words until he watched Peter take the photo out, chuck the frame in the trash and place the photo in the folds of his wallet, smiling as he looked down at it. Wade tried not to grind his teeth together, unaware of the second photo that had been tucked in Peter's pocket for years. It was a crudely taken selfie, the lighting was horrible, but the memories behind it were close to the hero's heart. As he stuffed the MJ photo into one of the slots in his wallet, he couldn't help but smile at the other picture he kept in there. His very first selfie with the mercenary; Deadpool.

He didn't realize that just the small action of keeping MJ's photo was eating away at Wade. If he had, he would have thought twice about keeping it. It wasn't that he needed her photo, it was just hard for Peter to get rid of things that had once meant so much to him. He was a sucker for sentimental value. He was positive he even had his DS from childhood tucked away in a box in his closet somewhere, uncharged and still holding Pokemon Diamond.

Right now, MJ was the last thing on his mind. He was so overcome by the love potion that he hadn't even thought about her since his date with Wade. And that was something he was grateful for.

He continued to pack boxes, cramming them as full as they would go before setting it in a pile by the door and moving on to the next one. He was just starting on his closet when Wade abruptly stood up, having just finished with the desk.

“Are you hungry?” Wade asked, moving towards the door. “If you wanted to stay here and keep working I could go pick us up some pizza.” He offered with a smile.  
“That sounds amazing actually.” Peter nodded, just now noticing the empty gurgle his stomach was omitting. He watched Wade go, feeling that happy flutter all over again. This was the life he wanted, this was the feeling he wanted to experience all the time. Being here with Wade, it all felt natural, made sense and had Peter in the highest spirits he had been in years.

He stood, cracking his back, standing in the sunlight that seeped through the open blinds. He wanted the rest of his days to be filled with this same, care free contentment. But the second his eyes landed on the vials sitting in his bed, he knew it couldn't last. That happy feeling was ripped from him, anxiety bubbled and fear clouded his mind. He had tried to put off thinking about it, pushing it aside every time he remembered. He didn't want to acknowledge a future without these strong feelings of love. He didn't want to go back to being a sad mess, broken and hurt over failed love of the past. He didn't want to be alone, to sleep alone and live like that until he was old and gray.

Peter stepped towards the bed, glaring at the vials angrily. He wanted to be mad that it had even happened in the first place. If he had never experienced these feelings then how could he miss them? Would he even miss them once they were out of his system? The questions, the uncertainty, the not knowing ate away at him and he immediately wished he could stay under the hold of the potion forever. It may have been the pink goo in his system talking but he didn't care. It felt real, it felt good, and wasn't that what mattered?

An idea struck him as he frantically searched his mind for a way to keep Wade close to his heart. Without giving it another thought, he grabbed the closest vile, unscrewed the lid and brought it to his lips. The pink slime slid over his tongue and killed his taste buds with a sweetness so strong it had to be lethal. He quickly swallowed the mouth full, leaving the vile half empty before screwing the lid back on. His eyes pinched closed as tingles like pin pricks shot through his nerves in all directions, his heart raced, his breath was short and for a second his head was spinning. He took a deep breath, holding it in for what felt like forever before letting it out with a heavy sigh. He couldn't believe he had just done that. Now the only thing he needed to do was wait for Wade and the effects of the potion would be guaranteed to last a week longer.

He wondered if this would double the effects. Would it make Wade seem irresistible? It didn't matter, none of it did. Peter had made a decision and he was determined to ride these feelings as long as he possibly could. He wouldn't give them a chance to wear off, wouldn't let his feelings for Wade die. He wouldn't go through another break up.

Quickly he grabbed his backpack off the back of the door and crammed the vials safely inside. He may not have been able to make a cure for the potion, but maybe he could duplicate it. He had enough of it to last him for months, giving him time to copy the recipe. It would become a part of his normal life, like medication. He could do this. All he needed was Wade.

He turned back to his closet, his hands trembling as he tried to continue packing up his belongings. Anxiety and anticipation swirled inside of him, he had really just done that. He was really signing on to a life with the mercenary, throwing all his real feelings out the door. He could hardly think straight as he packed up the next box, almost labeling it “Spider-Man suits” on the outside for all the world to see. The waiting made it worse, it got to the point where he had to stand up, pace around the room, stick his head out the window and just breathe for a minute. Then he sat on the edge of the bed, leg tapping up and down as he kept his gaze glued on the door, just waiting. Any moment now and he could seal the deal, make it official.

Down the road a ways Wade was returning, three boxes of Pizza in his hands. The heat from the boxes was almost uncomfortable and he quickened his pace. Although his stomach was distracted by food, his mind was filled with worry and zero confidence.

He couldn't shake the memory of the framed photo of MJ, her portrait burned in his head like a scar. Her warm smile was threatening, her fiery hair eating away at his confidence. There was no denying she was a gorgeous woman, and there was no doubt that Peter would still have feelings for her if he wasn't under the potions influence. He had even saved her picture for crying out loud.

[We really don't stand a chance if you think about it. Once that potion is gone, thwip, so is Spidey.] White agreed with his fears. [He'll go back to crying over her in the blink of an eye. We'll just be an afterthought.]

Wade hated the truth in White's words, hated that he was starting to agree with him too. He knew he was doing this all for Spidey, he was going along with it to make Peter feel better, but it was starting to feel like a slap at his own feelings, which were one hundred percent real. He had always loved Spider-Man, and he was already falling head over heels for Peter. Saying goodbye once it was over, once he had almost had him for real...that was going to hurt.

[Can you take it?] White's words sounded more like a warning than a question.

“I have to. It doesn't matter how it turns out in the end. He's hurting now and I'm staying for as long as he needs me.” Wade kept his goal in sight, determined to stay strong.

{I say enjoy it while you can. You never know how things will turn out and we might just land Petey pie after all.} Yellow continued to stay optimistic, blind to reality by his own fantastical imagination.

Wade wished his enthusiasm was reassuring but the thought of that one stupid photo had dashed all his hopes. Wade tried to put it out of his mind as he jogged across the street to Peter's apartment building. He tried not to let discouragement ruin his mood as he hurried up the stairs, and he tried to ignore that twinge of pain in his heart when he saw Peter's boxes outside the door, packed up and ready to be moved to his place.

“Pizza's here!” He exclaimed, wearing a smile as he entered the small room. Peter was sitting on the bed and immediately hopped up when he entered. He rushed over to where he sat the boxes down, listening as Wade went on.

“So I got three, one meat lovers, one pepperoni and one Hawaiian. I remembered that's what your ordered on our date so I got it again but you can have any of them.” He gestured towards the boxes and tried to step further into the room, but Peter moved to stand in front of him.

He didn't say a word, just slowly stepped closer until they were almost touching. Then he wen't still, reached out his hand slowly towards Wade's but froze before grabbing it. Wade could see Peter's cheeks darkening with a hint of red, noticed how he licked his lips as if about to say something important.

“Peter, is something wro-” Wade started to ask but was cut off when Peter looked up to meet his eyes and lunged forward suddenly.

Wade let out a muffled squeak of shock as Peter crashed their lips together. Wade's eyes were blown wide, the sparks in his head going on the fritz as he was overcome with sensations he had only dreamed of. He was so busy freaking out about the fact it was happening, that he hardly got the chance to experience it. He didn't notice the relieved hum that escaped Peter as he sighed into the kiss. He didn't notice the way Peter held his hand tightly but had the other one pressed over his heart. He didn't notice how when Peter pulled away, he left a quick extra peck on his lips, as if the first one hadn't been enough. And then it was over, and Wade's senses returned, and he had missed it.

{WHAT THE SHIT. FUCK. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS.}

[This is only going to make things harder.] White groaned tiredly.

{You BET things are getting harder. WINK WINK.} Yellow screamed.

Peter thought he could feel a spark, the moment their mouths had collided. It was like a switch had been turned on and he could feel something traveling through his nerves, carrying what he guessed was the love potion all throughout his blood stream. It was done, he had did it, and he felt complete. Relief washed over him and he practically sagged off the mercenary, tenderly leaving a soft parting kiss before stepping back.

He watched the shock slowly melt away from the mercenary as it was replaced with a deep blush and a deep stuttery inhale.

“P-p-Petey Pie...” Wade managed as his fingers slowly moved up to feel his own lips, touching the subtle wetness there as if affirming that had really just happened.

“Sorry,” Peter blurted out, hoping the mercenary being at a loss for words was a good thing. “I just uhm...really wanted to, er...needed that.” He fumbled for an excuse.

“Do you need another one? Cas, I can do this all day.” Wade joked, finally finding his voice again. He hoped Spidey would take him up on the offer and leap back, ready to get kissed good and slow by the mercenary. Instead he snickered and moved over to the pizza boxes, opening the lid of the Hawaiian one. He pulled out a slice and immediately began enjoying that strange mix of ham and pineapple that he couldn't decided if he loved or hated. It should be disgusting right? So why was it so good?

 

  

* * *

 

 

Peter didn't have much in terms of possessions, but there was enough boxes from his apartment to make Wade's place feel a little bit cramped. Of course, Peter didn't mind, tight living spaces meant he was closer to Wade every second of the day. They brushed shoulders in the hallway, sat knee to knee on the sofa, but it was when he crawled into bed at night that he really got to take the contact to a whole other level.

It had started out with him curling up under the mercenary's arm, but by the end of the weekend Wade was basically spooning him all night. Every time Wade would roll over, snake his arms around his middle and pull him close, Peter would mentally thank the mysterious maker of the potion. And it wasn't just him, he could hear Wade's satisfied sigh, feel his breath, even, calm and hot on the back of his neck. He had a feeling Wade needed this just as much as he did. Some nights the thought to take things a bit further would cross Peter's mind, but he would ultimately push it out, too comfortable and lazy to even turn his head. Then sleep would overcome him.

He was beginning to fall into a new domestic groove with the mercenary, and every moment of it made his heart swell, the potion pumping him with happy chemicals. But, despite their new living conditions, there were still times where they couldn't be together. Peter dreaded those, especially the inevitable end of Spring break.

Peter awoke with an irritated groan as his phone alarm chirped loudly in the dark room. His eyes struggled to stay open as he tried to get his brain to wake up. Slowly he began to shift, but was stopped when he felt Wade's grip tighten around him. The mercenary's forehead was pressed into his hair and he began to mumble under his breath, clearly still half asleep.

“Five more minutes.” He muttered, nuzzling the hero's soft curls as he breathed in the scent of Peter's fruity shampoo.

“You don't have to get up, but you've got to let me go. I've got to work.” Peter sighed, patting Wade's hand as it gripped his night shirt.

“Stay...five more minutes.” Wade muttered again, his breathe sending tingles down Peter's spine. He slipped his hands under Peter's shirt, rubbing small circles over his skin like he did to lull the hero to sleep the evenings before.

“Wade...don't make this harder for me.” Peter whined, practically melting under the older man's touch. He heard a soft light hearted chuckle rumble from behind him and he couldn't help but roll his eyes and smile.

{Hehehehehe. Yes, make it harder for him, then make THAT harder for him.} Yellow chittered and Wade new there was no way he was getting back to sleep now.

[Fuck all, I was in the middle of a rim cycle.] White groaned. Wade couldn't help but snicker at them and Peter as he attempted to wriggle out of his grasp. He gave him one more good squeeze before loosening his grip and letting the hero slip away. He couldn't help but frown at the immediate loss of warmth against his chest and grabbed up Peter's pillow in an attempt to replace the feeling of holding someone close. It was ill in comparison.

Slowly he peaked one eye open, watching as Peter stretched and shut off his phone alarm. He shuffled around the boxes in the bedroom until he got to an open one with articles of clothing hanging out of it.

{Roll over so we can see him better.} Yellow hissed, as Peter stepped to the edge of Wade's vision. The mercenary obliged, keeping his eyes trained on Peter as he rummaged through the box and pulled things out. Finally he decided on something, grabbed his backpack off the back of the door and turned to look at Wade one last time before heading for the shower.

An obvious blush dusted his cheeks when he realized Wade had been watching him and he quickly averted his gaze down to his feet.

“I'll be back around lunch. I'm just...returning some papers to a few students. Won't be a busy day, they'll be too focused on catching up from the break to ask for my help.” Peter informed him. He opened the bedroom door but turned back again, a look of thoughtfulness about him.

“Want to...do something when I get back? Before we patrol?” He asked hopefully.

{Oh there's a million things we want to do with you honey.} Yellow hummed.

[That's great but can we agree to go back to sleep after this?]

“Like a date?” Wade asked, pushing himself up onto his elbows, letting the covers slide off his arms and settle on his hips.

“Yeah...?” Peter wanted to say “Yes!” and sport the dopiest smile, but he couldn't help but feel timid when asking, a small part of him wondering if Wade wouldn't want to or if he was still just being nice this whole time.

“Sure baby boy. Whatever you want.” He gave a warm smile, his heart fluttering as Peter returned it.

“You plan it though!” Peter exclaimed and darted out the door and into the bathroom before Wade had a say so.

{We are living our best life.}

[There goes my plans to go back to bed.] White grumped.

“You could always shut off for the day or sleep or whatever you do. Nobody would miss you.” Wade huffed back. Maybe with only one box echoing in his ear he would be able to enjoy himself while he planned their date. It couldn't be too hard, right?

He racked his thoughts for any outstanding ideas, but nothing inspired him, and by the time Peter was out of the shower and out the door he still hadn't gotten anywhere idea wise. He hadn't even left the bed for that matter.

{Ah, chillax, we got all day to come up with something. The TV is bound to have something inspiring on. Let's go do that!} Yellow encouraged him as he began to roll out of bed.

[Yes, because TV first thing in the morning is both healthy and productive.] White chimed in.

“Nobody asked you.” Wade snorted, yawning as he shuffled into the living room.

{I thought you were going to shut off today anyways.} Yellow sounded disappointed. Wade let the two boxes bicker back and forth in his brain as he lounged on the sofa, missing the hero already. Lazily he flipped through the channels, searching for some form of motivation. However, nothing good was on and he soon found the whole morning was speeding by and the only thing he had accomplished was getting in an argument with the Yellow box residing in the folds of his mind. TV had not proven to be nearly as inspiring as he had hoped, and so far his plans for a date consisted of stupid ideas Yellow had thrown together on the fly.

{Ooooh we could do like what they did in Lady and the Tramp!} Yellow exclaimed.

“Oh, you mean sneak off to some dumpy back alley and beg Mario and Luigi to serve us leftover pasta on a dumpster table. Hard pass.” Wade groaned, rubbing his head in frustration. TV always made it look so easy, but nothing ever fell into place so brilliantly. Real life was hard.

{Ok, well let's do what they did in the Elf movie! We can go look at all the pretty Christmas trees and go ice skating! It's perfect because we live here in New York.} Yellow suggested.

“It's not even Christmas you twit. It's like mid Spring.” Wade angrily through the remote to the other side of the couch. “You really are no help at all. Your ideas suck ass.”

{At least I have ideas! Im' the only one contributing to this date at all.} He argued.

“You would be more help if you would just shut up.” Wade hissed.

{Ok fine! Let's just...Netflix and Chill with him. I mean, its about time we got some as...}

“No! For the last time! We are not fucking Peter! I mean, as much as that would be the best thing in the world, I've already explained why that is off limits.” Wade sighed, he was on the verge of giving up and just googling ideas when his phone began to ring. Lazily he pulled it from his pocket, not bothering to even check the caller ID as he answered and held it to his ear.

“This better be good.” He growled into the phone, not in the mood to be talking with anyone.

“If you're not interested in getting payed I can always call back later.” The irritated tone of Nick Fury came through his cell.

“Cash money! Hell yeah.” Wade gave an overly enthusiastic fist pump before Fury continued,

“Direct deposit, actually. I just transferred the funds into your current account. Hit-Monkey returned to headquarters today just like you said he would. I tried to get information out of him on what happened, but his...communication skills are lacking. Care to explain to me again what exactly happened, you said something about potions?” Fury asked. Wade could picture him now, feet propped up on his desk, brow raised over his eye patch as he awaited the mercenary's response.

“Yeah, me and Spider-Man have been trying to figure it out. There's been someone going around and using what Spidey calls “potions” to change people's behavior. It's really weird. There's always some huge cloud of colors and like a whole street of people covered in bright liquid. Hit-Monkey was covered in some when we found him. After it was washed off he returned to normal after the natural lasting effects wore off or some other bullshit like that. But...” he paused, thinking back about the pink think goo that had drenched Spidey from head to toe and left him a love struck fool.

“but some...seem to last longer than others.” He thought aloud. “But I don't know much about it.” He quickly added.

“Uhuh.” Fury muttered thoughtfully. “Well If you hear anything else about it...let me know. It sounds somewhat interesting. Until then, I'll be in contact with you if another assignment becomes available.” Fury assured him like he did at the end of all their brief phone calls. Which was every phone call, because Nick Fury made it a point to be brief. But Wade didn't care, and quickly blurted out the only thing that had been eating at him all morning.

“I need help!” He exclaimed. There was a moment of silence from Fury before he dryly replied,

“What is it now Wilson?”

“Please don't hang up but I was uh...assigned a missions to...uhm...prepare...a last minute...rendezvous for two partners...and I need to know how to make it...enjoyable.” He tried not to be obvious that he was asking for date ideas, but the head of S.H.I.E.L.D was too keen for Wade's fancy words.

“Are you asking me for date ideas?” Fury snapped, clearly upset the mercenary was wasting his precious time.

“Yes! You got me, but seriously I have no clue what to do!” Wade whined, but it was to no avail. The phone line clicked and went dead in his ear and he was still at a loss for ideas.

[This is why I can't take a day off. You two are completely helpless without me.] White grumbled from whatever quiet corner of Wade's mind he had retreated to.

“Please help! I only have a few hours before Peter comes home and I haven't even gotten dressed!” Wade moaned, feeling like the biggest loser on the planet.

{I thought I was helping!}

[Look, you're overthinking things like usual. It doesn't have to be so elaborate. Maybe just cook lunch and get a movie. You can Netflix and Chill without the actual chill.] White grumbled.

{Where is all the razzle dazzle?}

“But...will he enjoy it? What if he wants to go out somewhere? What if he isn't in the mood to watch a movie?” Wade panicked.

[Well you don't really have time to plan anything else now do you, genius?] White sneered.

{We could still go with one of my plans.} Yellow piped in.

[No!” Both Wade and White shouted in unison. Wade hauled himself off the sofa, the inklings of a plan beginning to form in his mind.

Across town Peter was just hopping off the city buss, not at all shocked by the amount of students flooding onto the campus. It had been nice to seemingly have the grounds to himself while they were away. He knew he had been lucky. That whole incident with Hit-Monkey just so happened to go down during Spring break. It was like his Parker luck had gone on break too. He wasn't sure, but he was hoping his luck was beginning to turn.

He hurried around the huddles of students and made his way to his usual spot in the library. His favorite work table was pressed in the back near the bathrooms and a long window, giving him a decent view of the city around them. It was more distracting if anything. Often times he would find himself gazing out the glass at the sky line, searching for a glimpse of the mercenary or wishing he was out there himself swinging around, instead of reading papers.

But today Peter had a goal: return as many papers as possible, get back home to Wade, have a date, and figure out how to keep their life together permanently. It was motivating enough to keep his attention glued to the stack he pulled out of his backpack and not at the sky scrapers reflecting the morning sun.

However, Peter had barely had taken a seat when a student came charging around a book case, calling his name.

“Mr. Parker!” Peter looked up at the “too loud for a library” voice, recognizing the student as Curtis. The younger man hurried over to Peter's table, plopping himself down in the opposite seat.

“Curtis. Didn't I give you back your hypothesis last week?” Peter questioned, rummaging through his stack of papers to make sure he hadn't missed something.  
“Oh, yeah you did. I'm not here on tutoring business though...” he started but Peter cut him off.

“Look Curt I'd love to chat but I really got a lot of things I need to return before lunch, maybe tomorrow we can,”

“Ok it IS tutoring related just not...remember how before I left I told you about a co-worker of mine looking for a tutor?” He asked. Peter immediately lit up, having forgotten all about the job opportunity.

“Yeah! What about it?” He leaned forward, putting the rest of the papers on the back burner of his mind.

“Well I saw her again yesterday and we talked some more about it and she sounds really interested. I told her you were basically the best around but she wants to meet you and talk more about the job I guess. She said she would be free tomorrow if you have some time? She doesn't work far from here and she offered to stop bye on her lunch break.” Curtis explained.

“Yeah, that sounds great actually. I should be free. Tell her to meet me at the pick nick table near the fountain. She can't miss it.” Peter couldn't help but smile knowing there was a possibility he could make some extra cash.

“Maybe I could take Wade on a date this time.” He thought to himself, trying not to blush at the thought of paying for the check before Wade could even whip out his wallet. He chuckled.

“Awesome, I'll let her know.” Curtis began to scoot his seat back but paused. He looked at the floor, lost deep in thought. Peter could tell there was something else he wanted to say and was struggling to get out. Finally he shook his head and stood, turning to leave. He got half way down the aisle before he turned back around and approached the table again.

“Peter...can I...ask you something? I know you're busy but...” He scratched the back of his head nervously, fearing Peter would send him away.

“Sure, nobody has come for their papers yet anyways.” He shrugged, how could he say no when Curt obviously was struggling with something.

“How do you know...when it's the right time?” Curt blurted out, his features growing serious as he roughly sat himself back down in the chair. He laced his fingers together and leaned forward, eagerly anticipating Peter's answer.

“Uh...you're going to have to be a little more specific bud. Time for what?” Peter raised a brow and Curt shrugged his bag off his shoulders and rummaged through one of the many zippers. He pulled out a small black velvet box and gently placed it on the table, popping the lid up to reveal a large sparkly diamond attacked to a dainty gold band.

“What the heck!” Peter exclaimed, scooting closer to look at the stone. “What are you doing carrying that around at school!? That's like...”

“Is it not a good one?” Curt panicked, biting his lower lip. “I don't know anything about jewelry but the woman at the store said this was a good one.” He ran his fingers through his hair anxiously. “Oh god, Peter, this was like...five months worth of paychecks. What if she hates it? What if she says no!?” He gave a nervous chuckle before snapping the box closed and shoving it back in his backpack.

“You're thinking of proposing? I'm assuming that's what you're freaking out about.” Peter leaned back in his chair, he really was the worst person to ask for advice on matters of the heart. He was currently suffering the side effects of a love potion and knew nothing about following your true emotions. He felt a bit of pity for the love struck college student as Curtis began to go off on a tangent.

“My friends say I'm jumping the gun, that I should wait until after we've graduated. They say I need to live life to the fullest and have some fun. But like...life is more fun with her you know? And...and there's no rule that says we can't be married and in college. I've known for years that I want to spend the rest of my life with her and I don't see why I have to wait anymore. We talked a little bit about it over the Spring Break and I just...I got too excited I guess. But now I have this ring, it feels right, I love her more than anything, and now I can't imagine not being with her and I don't know what to do man.” Curt exhaled a heavy sigh, pressing his palms into his eyes until he saw stars.

“Uhm...ok...” Peter tried to process and properly analyze the situation but all he could do was sympathize with the poor guy. He knew what it was like to feel this overpowering urge to just...be with someone. He knew what it was like to be confused about the next step, confused on how to keep the relationship and take it to the next level. He would be lying if he said he hadn't thought of marriage at least once, for like...a split second before he dozed off to sleep. Was that something Wade would be interested in one day, he wondered.

Peter had his own doubts, had his own questions about his newly developing relationship. Thinking about it gave him butterflies and anxiety at the same time. But he had made a decision, he had drank more of the potion, and he was looking for his own ways to keep their relationship permanently.

“I think...I think you should do it.” Peter finally decided, watching as Curtis looked up at him hopefully. “Yeah, look, if this is what your heart is telling you to do, then I say just go with it. Every time I try to make love decisions with my brain, I always screw something up.” He gritted his teeth at the sudden recollection of MJ and the way their relationship had ended. It had not been smooth.

“Yeah, you're right. I should just go for it.” Curtis sat back up, a new look of determination set in his eyes. A wide smile spread across his face as he thanked Peter and hurried off to his classes.

Yet again, Peter found himself deep in thought about what Curtis had said. What was it about the college student that always made him reflect on his own love issues? He knew he wanted something more with the mercenary, and yet he wasn't sure how exactly he was going to go about getting that. There were some moments where he thought he could sense a bit of hesitation in Wade, like he was unsure. Before the love potion, before the break up with MJ, Wade had been so obvious with his flirtations. But now that he had Peter in the palm of his hands, he wasn't making any of his signature moves. And Peter would have been glad, he would have been thankful, but that was before. That was before he made the decision to go with it, that was before he decided he wanted things with the mercenary to develop.

And it clicked in Peter, as he returned the last paper of the day. Wade had agreed to all this in order to help him get through the love potion, he was being a good friend and more than likely thought Peter was still trying to fight the effects. Peter had to make a move, had to let Wade enjoy this as much as he was. His own advice to Curtis echoed in his thoughts as he hurried home.

“I should just go for it.” He grinned and packed his bag to head home. He needed to seal the deal, make things real for the mercenary. Living together, the love potion, it wasn't enough for Peter. He needed to make sure things wouldn't fall through, he wanted to take the next step.

By the time he made it back home he was more determined than ever to make sure that deep rooted feeling of love never diminished. He wasn't going to let the potions effects wear off and his depressed mopey self come back. This was what he wanted.

Peter stepped into their living space with the brightest smile, which soon faded and was replaced with a look of total confusion. The apartment was dark, too dark, but the smell of spices wafted in the air. He could hear Wade muttering to himself about matches somewhere down the hall. As Peter shut the door slowly behind him, he tried to figure out what in the world was going on. He stepped through the kitchen, spying a bizarre set up in the living room.

A thick blanket was draped over the window, blocking out all the sunlight. A single string of Christmas lights was hung up on the wall behind the sofa. The only other light in the apartment came from the random candles set up all over the place. In the middle of the living floor was a sheet, spread over the carpet. On it sat two empty wine glasses and a basket of breadsticks.

“What the hell.” Peter chuckled, he was beyond confused.

“Wade?” He called, setting his bag down beside the sofa. The mercenary cursed something under his breath before appearing from down the hall, carrying a box of candles.

“Petey, you're back. Shoot...I wasn't ready yet.” He groaned, setting the candles down on the kitchen counter. Peter tried not to burst into laughter as Wade frantically hurried around the kitchen in nothing but his pajama pants and an apron.

“What is all this?” He instead asked, watching as the older man stirred the contents of a pot that had been sitting on the stove. He grabbed two plates out of the cabinet before turning to answer,

“Well...Yellow had all these stupid ideas and then White said to keep it simple and I didn't know what to do so I just kinda...did everything.” Wade confessed, a blush of embarrassment dusting his cheeks as he began to scoop heaps of spaghetti and meatballs on both plates. Peter couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him, but quickly followed it with a soft,

“Awwww,” He stepped up behind the mercenary and looped his arms around his middle, giving him a warm hug. The feeling of Wade's rough scarred skin pressed against his cheek and his heart did flips in his chest. Every touch, every action of affection, no matter how innocent, had Peter yearning for more. The love potion was working over time.

“So,” he broke the silence as he finally let Wade go. “Who's idea was the spaghetti?”

“Yellow's.” Wade answered, handing Peter his plate before leading him over to the sheet spread out over the floor. “Well, actually his idea was for us to go eat pasta in an alley behind an Italian restaurant, but I...tweaked it a little.” Wade winked at him as he took a seat, back pressed against the sofa.

“And the Christmas lights?”

“Also Yellow. He said we should go look at all the pretty New York Christmas decorations. I reminded him it was Spring.”

“Oh. Well I appreciate his sentiment.” Peter joked, sitting next to the mercenary. He scooted closer until their knees touched.

{Hah! He thanked me. See, I knew he would like my ideas. I bet he'd like my other ideas too. Let's test that theory!} Yellow encouraged, sounding way too excited.

“What about the pick nick inside?” Peter continued as Wade filled their wine glasses.

“White. He's simple like that.” Wade shrugged, handing a glass to Peter.

“Oh, then thank him too.” Peter smiled before pausing and placing a hand on Wade's knee. He leaned in close, voice a low whisper.

“But I'll have to thank you the most.” He teased before planting a small kiss on the mercenary's cheek. Wade froze, this was the second time to hero had kissed him and just like that it was over. He wanted to grit his teeth and re-wind time, allowing himself the chance to close his eyes and savor the feeling. However, despite it all, he was still overjoyed. Any form of tenderness from Peter was always welcome, he just wished it had been under real circumstances, and not the influence of the potion. Then he knew he could really appreciate it.

He tried to get his mind off the disappointment by flipping on Netflix and letting episodes of The Office play. Conversation was light as they ate and just enjoyed each other's company. It wasn't until the fifth episode, and a glass of wine later, then Wade noticed Peter slowly shifting closer.

First he positioned himself so they were sitting pressed side to side, then his head rested on Wade's shoulder, lastly he timidly reached for the mercenary's hands, intertwining their fingers when Wade showed no signs of discomfort.

[He's probably dealing with a strong wave from the love potion or something.] White noted and Wade nodded in agreement, but continued to rub small circles with his thumb on the back of the hero's hand anyways.

{No he loves us, I just know it. If he needs more give him more!} Yellow encouraged, and Wade couldn't help but oblige. He brought the hero's hand up to his lips, leaving a kiss on his smooth skin.

And Peter's heart throbbed and constricted in his chest. His whole hand tingled and Wade's lips could still be felt even after he let their hands rest on his leg again. Peter fought a whine that threatened to escape him when the potion flipped that switch in him. Now, he should make a move now.

He turned to face Wade, building up the nerve as the sound of Dwight throwing a bag over Meredith's head played in the background. He drowned it out, and the world around him was slowly lost, in tune to nothing but Wade.

He stared at the light from the TV reflecting in his lapis blue eyes and the slight upturn of his smile as he chuckled at the show. Warmth radiated off his skin and Peter wanted to drown in it, wanted Wade to kiss him until he couldn't breathe and his lungs were soar for air. Want overcame him, too powerful for him to fight anymore, and when Wade finally looked down to meet his eyes, he let his desires take over.

“Kiss me.” He whispered, grip tightening slightly on Wade's hand. Wade's eyes widened as he went still, blown away by Peter Parker. He had dreamed of moments like this, and he almost wondered if he was currently dreaming. The way the colorful Christmas lights shone, leaving hues of reds, greens and blues across his features made it feel fantastical. The murmur of the show in the background was like the random chatter of a dream, undecipherable and barely there. And Wade hoped to god it wasn't a dream, because he wanted this so bad.

{OH FUCK YEAH DO IT!}

[Be careful this is a dangerous game to pl-] White was cut off as Wade leaned down and closed the distance between them. He brought his hand up to cup Peter's cheek, feeling his baby smooth skin against his own. He savored it, savored the happy hum Peter made when they connected. Savored the silky curls that tickled his fingers when he ran them through Peter's hair. He savored the sensation he got when Peter pressed into the kiss, feeling him back. He couldn't bring himself to stop.

[Not too far now.]

Peter nipped playfully at his lower lip, smiling when Wade growled and nipped back. A shiver of lust ran down Peter's spine when Wade licked the corners of his mouth, and he eagerly opened, letting the mercenary taste him.

Peter needed more, feeling the strong drive to get as much of Wade as he could. If it was possible, he would have melted into his flesh and become one with him in that very moment, the need he was experiencing was overwhelming.

Desperately he pressed himself closer, moving until he was seated in the mercenary's lap, arms draped around his neck. Wade's tongue glided over his own, wet and warm, before he pulled away for a breath of air. For a second they were connected by a thin string of saliva, and Peter couldn't help but whine for Wade to return to him.

[End it here. No more.] White urged.

{NO CONTINUE!} Yellow argued. And Wade could hardly think straight, his mind was racing, barely able to keep up with heart. But the cool air filling his lungs helped to straighten his thoughts, and, all be it reluctantly, his grip slowly loosened on the hero. Peter, however, was still drugged out on the potion, and all he knew was he wanted more.

“Wade,” he whimpered, nuzzling himself closer and pressing against the older man's muscles.

“Baby boy I,” Wade's words died in his throat when Peter reacted to the pet name. He wiggled himself closer, moving just enough for his ass to brush against the front of Wade's pants. And Wade jolted, unprepared for the stimulation. Peter felt his muscles tighten, heard his breath hitch as he stopped speaking mid sentence, and it only urged him further.

He looked back up, smiling at the way Wade's mouth was cracked open in a surprised gasp. He crashed their lips back together, groaning with need as Wade finally moved again. His hands grabbed Peter's hips for a split second before he trailed them up and snaked them under Peter's shirt.

[It's going too far Wade, this isn't good.]

{Shut up this is the best good ever.}

Peter began to slide himself back down Wade's lap, only to press down and scoot back up, again and again. Wade moaned into Peter's mouth, feeling somewhat ashamed at how much Peter grinding in his lap was turning him on. Peter's hands clutched to him desperately as he pushed himself down harder, no doubt feeling Wade's erection growing beneath him.

[Stop now Wade!] White warned him. But Wade could barely register his words over the growing warmth that traveled past the pit of his stomach. His hands explored the hero, caressing his sides and back. His tongue brushed against the hero's lips, pressing into his mouth. He let his fingers travel down, resting on Peter's hips. Peter imitated him, his own hands slowly snaking under the elastic band of Wade's sweats.

Peter slid back up his lap one more time, his own half hard member pressing against Wade's stomach. And Wade was about to let go, about to let the hero wiggle his sweats off and take all of him that he wanted.

[STOP! STOP NOW OR I WILL MAKE YOU STOP!] White screamed so loud Wade could practically feel his voice echoing in his ears. Immediately he stilled, holding Peter's hips tight so he wouldn't move.

[You fucking idiot! This isn't real! He doesn't really want us like that! THE POTION! REMEMBER THE POTION! He's not in his right state of mind! You cannot let this go any further!] White shouted angrily. Yellow was uncharacteristically quiet, not piping up to defend their behavior like usual.

And it hit Wade hard when Peter pulled away slowly and looked at him, concern filling his puppy dog eyes.

“Wade...what's wrong?” He asked, his voice low and timid.

Everything, everything was wrong, and it hurt Wade to admit it. It had felt so good, so amazing that he completely forgot it wasn't real. His heart felt like it was crumbling out of his chest, knowing that the only reason Peter wanted him was because of the potion. Whenever this was over, and it inevitably wore off, Peter wouldn't want him anymore, he would never want him like this, honest and truly.

“It's nothing. Just that, we should probably patrol now. It's way past our usual time.” Wade tried to stop his voice from cracking as he forced a smile. Peter nodded, seeming to agree as he glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall. Peter had to admit he was a little nervous about where things were about to go. His emotions quickly got the better of him, and while he had wanted to move things along, he wasn't quite ready to go all the way. Still, he found it incredibly painful to peel himself off the older man.

Slowly Wade brought his hand back up to Peter's face, his heart throbbing at the way the hero nuzzled into it and kissed his palm. Wade couldn't help but feel like his dreams had been crushed. While the love potion had felt like a blessing at first, Wade was beginning to realize it was more of a curse, teasing him with the one thing he could never have. He could never have Peter Parker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hate me plz :') 
> 
> Lmao, sorry if there are a few typo's here and there. I usually try to edit the chapter in segments of 3 but my vacation sort of ruined that and I edited it all at once while I was dead ass tired. 
> 
> Also, if anyone has read my other fic "Tent City Hero" then you'll know the ending wasn't the best and left much to be desired, especially from the smut scene. So I'm trying a few different things in this fic and we'll see how it goes.


End file.
